Onshore Wind Strategic Leadership Group minutes: 16 February 2024

Attendees and apologies

• Ragne Low, SG Deputy Chair, Scottish Government
• Morag Watson, Sector Deal Lead, Scottish Renewables 
• Neil Douglas, Scottish Renewables Sector Deal Support, BVG Associates
• Graham Gow, Scottish Renewables Sector Deal Support, BVG Associates
• Heather Donald, G12 Representative, SSE
• Marcus Trinick KC, Planning Considerations Lead
• Sam Johnson, Techincal Barriers Lead, Renewable Energy Systems Ltd
• Paul Wheelhouse, Supply Chain, Skills and Circular Economy Lead, South of Scotland Enterprise
• Simon Gill, Legislative and Regulatory Barriers Lead, The Energy Landscape
• Chris Morris, Community Energy Lead, Local Energy Scotland
• Darren Hemsley, Land Use and Environmental Considerations Deputy, NatureScot  

Apologies

• Robbie Kernahan, Land Use and Environmental Considerations Lead, NatureScot  

Items and actions

Welcome and feedback

The Scottish Government (SG) deputy Chair welcomed SLG members and noted the G12 chair was stepping down and the G12 have decided that two co-chairs will share the role going forward.

Commitment tracker and summary report

BVGa presented the Onshore Wind Sector Deal (OnWSD) commitment tracker and proposed summary reporting document. SLG members discussed the priority status of several commitments and asked that the SLG be able to review a draft version of the summary report before publication.  

An action was taken to clarify the role of SLG members in the delivery phase. The SG deputy Chair highlighted the current terms of reference (TOR) stipulates a review point for the SLG structure. It was agreed the TOR can be used to clarify the role of SLG members.  

Onshore wind pipeline analysis

BVGa presented the onshore wind pipeline analysis 2023-2030.  The report presents the database and initial analysis, providing insights into the scenarios under which Scotland may achieve its ambition of 20 GW of onshore wind by 2030.  In summary, there is potential for Scotland to reach ~20-25 GW by 2030. 

To aid forward planning for key stakeholders, the analysis also provides a number of indicators broken down by year and Local Planning Authority (LPA), including:

•    Projects going through the planning system (split between Energy Consents Unit (ECU) and LPAs)
•    Abnormal loads
•    Grid connections required
•    Community benefit
•    Contracts for difference (CfD) allocation capacities required

Feedback and close

SLG members discussed methods for reporting commitment progress, potentially using the Scottish Renewables webpage on Eskdalemuir as a good example to follow.  An action was taken to taken to develop a reporting example and share it with the SLG for feedback.  

SLG members discussed a proposal for a regional developer forum in the South of Scotland, to bring stakeholders together in the region.