Scottish energy strategy consultation: the future of energy in Scotland

Chapter 6: Delivery, Monitoring and Engagement

2050 Vision

• Scotland will have a thriving energy sector with public and private sectors working together to deliver the 2050 vision.
• Scotland will continue to work at the leading edge, adapting and taking advantage of new energy technology.
• The public will be informed, helping to deliver and shape Scotland's energy future.

Working In Partnership To Sustain A Thriving Energy Sector In Scotland

198. Securing the benefits of the low carbon transition and the associated transformation of Scotland's energy system will require deep collaboration between the public and private sector.

199. The Scottish Energy Advisory Board has played an important role in providing advice on all aspects of the energy sector to the First Minister of Scotland since 2009. Following the publication of this strategy, the SEAB will be re-focussed on the new themes of this strategy. The remit of SEAB will be to provide oversight and advice - with a supporting network comprised of industry and consumer-led advisory groups.

200. As the strategic approach to local energy schemes takes on a greater significance, Scotland's local authorities will play a pivotal role in Scotland's energy future. The Scottish Government will work closely with local authorities and COSLA in the design and implementation of Scotland's Energy Strategy, including SEEP and to support the development of local heat and energy efficiency strategies, providing the basis of public and private infrastructure investment in the future.

201. Our Enterprise and Skills Agencies will continue to have an essential role in helping to create a high quality environment for business growth, with better connections to the global market. This includes:

• reducing the cost base of energy supply sector technologies through collaboration, innovation and scale;
• supporting the supply chain to capitalise on new and emerging opportunities at home and abroad;
• maintaining and increasing the provision of high level skills in science and engineering - and enabling the transfer of skills to deliver energy efficiency in buildings and manufacturing and to develop new low carbon industries; and
• creating a supportive and collaborative business environment for entrepreneurship, research and innovation in energy sector, increasing competitiveness.

202. On finalising this Strategy, the enterprise and skills agencies' objectives will be further aligned towards its strategic aims. The Scottish Government will work with Skills Development Scotland to review the priorities and actions of the Skills Investment Plan in light of this Energy Strategy.

203. Scotland has world-class research & innovation capacity and facilities to support the advancement of technologies and processes which will allow the Scottish Government to reach its objectives in the Energy sector. A whole-system view of energy systems requires a whole-system response, and the Scottish research base is ideally positioned to translate excellent research into economic impact.

204. The Scottish Government, along with the Scottish Funding Council, is supporting the Energy Technology Partnership ( ETP), the largest power and energy research partnership in Europe, which promotes collaboration between universities and industry to delivery energy R&D capability across a range of technologies. The ETP is an affiliation of 12 university partners, a strong knowledge and skills base in energy related research and innovation which will support the development of our future energy systems.

Monitoring Scotland's Energy Strategy

205. This Energy Strategy is designed for the long-term - with the flexibility to respond to developments in energy technologies and changes in consumer behaviour in the coming decades.

206. It will be therefore be important to monitor and adapt Scottish policies to ensure they continue to support the long-term vision set by the Strategy.

207. The Scottish Government plans to publish an Annual Energy Statement in the summer of each year that will take into account:

• the latest energy statistics;
• greenhouse gas emissions statistics; and
• a wide range of information that is already collected on the effectiveness of Scottish Government and UK Government energy schemes.

208. The Annual Energy Statement will take account of the Climate Change Plan monitoring framework and the relevant energy indicators.

Deepening Public Engagement

209. Neither government nor communities alone have all the resources to solve the complex problems of energy provision. By working together in a meaningful way we can achieve more, and through continued dialogue and engagement we aim to ensure that the policies and actions put in place to deliver this Strategy are the right ones.

210. Constructive dialogue with stakeholders over recent months and years has helped to shape the draft set out here. The Scottish Government is committed to continuing and strengthening these channels of communication over the coming years.

211. The consultation on this draft Energy Strategy will include new approaches to public participation and engagement, as we finalise the priorities for Scotland's energy system.

212. Our objectives are to:

• raise awareness and improve understanding of the choices, opportunities and challenges facing Scotland as we move towards decarbonising the energy system;
• encourage a greater sense of ownership and control amongst communities and individuals as consumers, producers and investors in their energy system; and
• improve the design of programmes and initiatives through sharing ideas and listening to and feeding in the views of the public in designing policy.

Public engagement

Our approach to deepening public engagement on energy issues must allow flexibility to adapt overtime, but will be comprised of three core components:

Information sharing and awareness raising

• By making information readily available and raising awareness of the choices presented by a move towards decarbonising the energy system, we intend to enable and encourage public engagement in making those choices.
• We will use digital technologies to make information accessible and data open. The Scottish Government identified the need to refresh its Digital Strategy and set out its thinking in an interactive dialogue hosted online. This will shape and inform our approach.

Local conversations

• We will encourage and support communities to hold local conversations about local energy systems; stakeholder organisations to engage with local communities; and communities to share ideas and good practice with each other.

Consultation, engagement and deliberation

• We wish to combine the mutual strengths, capacities, skills and ideas of communities, industry, and other stakeholders in shaping and delivering Scotland's future energy system.
• We will embed meaningful consultation, engagement and deliberation into this strategy by using a range of tools, methods and platforms to involve people in the decisions that affect them.

213. The Scottish Government is committed to developing an engagement plan and will publish this plan as part of the final Strategy.

Consultation questions

• What ideas do you have about how Scottish Government, the private sector and the public sector can maximise the benefits of working in partnership to deliver the 2050 vision for energy in Scotland?
• What ideas do you have about how delivery of the Energy Strategy should be monitored?
• What are you views on the proposed approach to deepening public engagement set out in this chapter?