Gordonbush Wind Farm and Gordonbush Hydrogen Demonstrator Project: EIR release

Information requested

Information on Gordonbush Wind Farm and Gordonbush Hydrogen Demonstrator Project.

1. Please provide details of all meetings held between Cabinet Secretary Michael Matheson (NetZero/Energy) and SSE Renewables in which the Gordonbush wind farm has been discussed. Please also include all discussions related to the proposed green hydrogen development at the wind farm. Please limit the search period to the period between 1st July 2018 until present date. Please include details of all visits by Cabinet Secretary Matheson to the Gordonbush wind farm in Sutherland.
2. Please provide details of all correspondence between Cabinet Secretary Michael Matheson and SSE Renewables regarding the proposed green hydrogen development at Gordonbush wind farm. Please limit the search period to the period between 1st January 2022 until the present date.
3. The Scottish Government awarded £304,000 as a ‘match funded grant contribution to the development phase’ for Gordonbush Hydrogen Demonstrator Project to be completed by SSE Renewables. Please provide details of all internal Scottish Government discussion (including between Ministers, Civil Servants, and Special Advisers) related to this decision and also all correspondence related to this decision.
4. The proposals for a green hydrogen development at Gordonbush wind farm (not yet submitted for planning permission) have been included in the Scottish Government’s ‘Hydrogen Action Plan’. Please provide details of all internal correspondence/discussion (including between Ministers, Civil Servants, and Special Advisers) related to including this proposed development in the ‘Hydrogen Action Plan’.
5. Please provide details of any correspondence between the Scottish Government and the Highland Council related to Gordonbush wind farm between 1st January 2022 and March 2023.
6. The Scottish Government awarded £304,000 as a ‘match funded grant contribution to the development phase’ for Gordonbush Hydrogen Demonstrator Project. Please provide information on any guidance, rules, regulations and procedures that Scottish Government Ministers and civil servants should follow when deciding to award grants to projects which have not yet received planning permission. Please include information on what factors Ministers and civil servants must take into account when deciding a project, which has not received planning permission and may not proceed if Planning Permission is not granted, is suitable to receive public funding.
7. DATA related to the wind farm constraint payments (provided by REF (Renewable Energy Foundation) in NOV 2019) indicated that the Gordonbush Wind Farm (35 wind turbines at the time) had, been paid over £16.4million in constraint payments to reduce output since it was commissioned in 2012. Please provide information as to whether the level of constraint payment received by Gordonbush Wind Farm was taken into account and considered fully by the Scottish Government in their decision to grant consent for an extension to the wind farm (15 additional wind turbines) in September 2017 and again (for the variation) in November 2019. For information, the variation in November 2019 approved an increase in wind turbine height to 150m in height. Please provide details of all relevant internal Scottish Government discussion (including between Ministers, Civil Servants, and Special Advisers) from the time related to this matter.

Response

As the information you have requested is 'environmental information' for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

1: Please provide details of all meetings held between Cabinet Secretary Michael Matheson (NetZero/Energy) and SSE Renewables in which the Gordonbush wind farm has been discussed. Please also include all discussions related to the proposed green hydrogen development at the wind farm. Please limit the search period to the period between 1st July 2018 until present date. Please include details of all visits by Cabinet Secretary Matheson to the Gordonbush wind farm in Sutherland.

Mr Matheson visited Gordonbush Wind Farm on 12 August 2021 for the Official Opening of Gordonbush Wind Farm Extension.

Information on Minister engagements is publicly available on the Scottish Government website via this link: Ministerial engagements, travel and gifts: August 2021 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

There have been no other meetings held between Mr Matheson and SSE Renewables at which the Gordonbush Wind Farm was discussed during this time frame. Mr Matheson has not met with SSE Renewables to discuss the green hydrogen development over this time frame.

2: Please provide details of all correspondence between Cabinet Secretary Michael Matheson and SSE Renewables regarding the proposed green hydrogen development at Gordonbush wind farm. Please limit the search period to the period between 1st January 2022 until the present date.

Following searches on our document management system and mailboxes, we have found that in this instance the Scottish Government does not hold information that meets the criteria of this request.

3: The Scottish Government awarded £304,000 as a ‘match funded grant contribution to the development phase’ for Gordonbush Hydrogen Demonstrator Project to be completed by SSE Renewables. Please provide details of all internal Scottish Government discussion (including between Ministers, Civil Servants, and Special Advisers) related to this decision and also all correspondence related to this decision.

SSE Renewables submitted a funding proposal to the Scottish Government Hydrogen Policy team in 2022 to enable progression of planning and further technical studies to complete the development phase of the Gordonbush project. Internal discussion related to this decision entailed seeking authorisation to spend budget from the Accountable Officer, the Director General of Net Zero. Energy Industries Officials sought and gained approval from the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport. Due diligence checks on SSE Renewables were also undertaken as part of the process.

I enclose a copy of some of the information you requested in Annex A (attached).

4: The proposals for a green hydrogen development at Gordonbush wind farm (not yet submitted for planning permission) have been included in the Scottish Government’s ‘Hydrogen Action Plan’. Please provide details of all internal correspondence/discussion (including between Ministers, Civil Servants, and Special Advisers) related to including this proposed development in the ‘Hydrogen Action Plan’.

Following searches on our document management system and mailboxes, we have found that in this instance the Scottish Government does not hold information that meets the criteria of this request.

The project was announced on SSE Renewables website in April 2022 (New Gordonbush project steps up SSE’s green hydrogen push | SSE) and therefore in the public domain during the development of the Hydrogen Action Plan in late 2022. The Hydrogen Action Plan references a wide range of projects at different stages of development from across Scotland, as shown on the ‘Map of Current and Planned Hydrogen Projects’ diagram.

5: Please provide details of any correspondence between the Scottish Government and the Highland Council related to Gordonbush wind farm between 1st January 2022 and March 2023.

Following searches on our document management system and mailboxes, we have found that in this instance the Scottish Government does not hold information that meets the criteria of this request.

6: The Scottish Government awarded £304,000 as a ‘match funded grant contribution to the development phase’ for Gordonbush Hydrogen Demonstrator Project. Please provide information on any guidance, rules, regulations and procedures that Scottish Government Ministers and civil servants should follow when deciding to award grants to projects which have not yet received planning permission. Please include information on what factors Ministers and civil servants must take into account when deciding a project, which has not received planning permission and may not proceed if Planning Permission is not granted, is suitable to receive public funding.

The grant awarded to SSE Renewables for the Gordonbush project was to enable progression of planning and further technical studies to complete the development phase of the project.

The decision to award planning permission resides with the Highland Council. Onshore generating stations which will have a capacity of 50MW or less when constructed are not within the scope of the Electricity Act, and such applications require an application for planning permission to be submitted to the relevant local planning authority under The Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997.

The Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM) is issued by the Scottish Ministers to provide guidance on the proper handling and reporting of public funds. This information is publicly available online Scottish Public Finance Manual - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

7: DATA related to the wind farm constraint payments (provided by REF (Renewable Energy Foundation) in NOV 2019) indicated that the Gordonbush Wind Farm (35 wind turbines at the time) had, been paid over £16.4million in constraint payments to reduce output since it was commissioned in 2012. Please provide information as to whether the level of constraint payment received by Gordonbush Wind Farm was taken into account and considered fully by the Scottish Government in their decision to grant consent for an extension to the wind farm (15 additional wind turbines) in September 2017 and again (for the variation) in November 2019. For information, the variation in November 2019 approved an increase in wind turbine height to 150m in height. Please provide details of all relevant internal Scottish Government discussion (including between Ministers, Civil Servants, and Special Advisers) from the time related to this matter.

The Scottish Ministers’ reasons for the decision are set out in the decision letters. The decision letters, application Information (including consultation responses and representations) relating to each of the decisions referenced can be found on our portal at the following links:

1. Gordonbush Extension - Scottish Government - Energy Consents Unit - Application Details
2. Gordonbush Extension Variation - Scottish Government - Energy Consents Unit - Application Details

You will see from the decision letters that there is no reference to consideration being given in respect of grid constraints (payments or otherwise). This is because the availability of a grid connection/or capacity is not material to taking a decision on a renewable energy decision. National policy at the time and in the now adopted NPF4 Supporting documents - National Planning Framework 4 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) state that “grid capacity should not constrain renewable energy development. It is for developers to agree connections to the grid with the relevant network operator.”

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exception(s) under regulation(s) 10(4)(d) (unfinished or incomplete information), 10(4)(e) (internal communications), 10(5)(e) (substantial prejudice to confidentiality of commercial information) and 11(2) (personal information) of the EIRs applies to that information. The reasons why that exception(s) applies are explained below.

An exception under regulation 10(4)(d) of the EIRs (unfinished or incomplete information) applies to some of the information you have requested because it is an unfinished document.

This exception is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. We recognise that there is some public interest in release as part of open, transparent and accountable government. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in ensuring that unfinished or incomplete information which is still in being worked on or is under active consideration is not disclosed when it might misinform the public or give a misleading impression of the Government’s view or position on the matter to which the information relates.

An exception under regulation 10(4)(e) of the EIRs (internal communications) applies to some of the information you have requested because it is internal communication between Scottish Government Ministers and/or officials about decisions on whether or not to award grant funding.

This exception is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. We recognise that there is some public interest in release as part of open, transparent and accountable government, and to inform public debate. However, there is a greater public interest in high quality policy and decision-making, and in the properly considered implementation and development of policies and decisions. This means that Ministers and officials need to be able to consider all available options and to debate those rigorously, to fully understand their possible implications. Their candour in doing so will be affected by their assessment of whether the discussions on decision making covered in your request will be disclosed in the near future, when it may undermine or constrain the Government’s view on that issue while it is still under discussion and development.

An exception under regulation 10(5)(e) of the EIRs (substantial prejudice to confidentiality of commercial information) applies to some of the information you have requested. This exception applies because disclosure of this particular information would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially the confidentiality of commercial information provided by SSE Renewables and thus cause substantial harm to their commercial interests.

This exception is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. We recognise that there is a public interest in disclosing information as part of open and transparent government, and to help account for the expenditure of public money. However, there is a greater public interest in protecting the commercial interests of companies which apply for funding from Scottish Government to ensure that we are always able to obtain the best value for public money.

An exception under regulation 11(2) of the EIRs (personal information) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exception is not subject to the 'public interest test', so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

FOI 202300347852 - Information Released - Annex A

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