Renewable energy
Greater use of renewable energy sources is required to make a truly positive contribution to sustainable development and climate change. Wind, waves, tides, the sun, air, wood, waste and the ground beneath us are all sources of energy which can harnessed, at a variety of scales, to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere. Existing and new technologies also have the potential to provide significant economic opportunities in supporting the renewables industry viability and employment.
Policy summary
Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) 6 - Renewable Energy explains that:
- Targets for the amount of energy created from renewable sources should not be regarded as a cap. They should be regarded as a minimum.
- The planning policy supports in principle the full range of renewable technologies.
- Support for renewable energy developments and the need to protect and enhance Scotland's natural and historic environment must be regarded as compatible goals.
- Development plan policies for wind farms should be based on the principle that they should be accommodated only where the technology can operate efficiently and the environmental and cumulative effects can be addressed satisfactorily.
Wind Farm Developments
Planning Authorities determine planning applications for wind farm developments with a capacity of less than 50MW. For larger wind farms, Scottish Ministers determine the applications and issue consents .The Scottish Government Energy Consents Unit processes applications for wind farms over 50MW and their 'Search Applications' facility enables the public to check what applications they are processing.
SPP Update
As part of the commitment to proportionate and practical planning polices, the Scottish Government is rationalising the Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) and National Planning Policy Guidance (NPPG) series into a single, shorter statement of national planning policy. The initial sections of the consolidated SPP were published in October 2008 as Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) covering the core principles, aspirations and expectations of the planning system. The remaining sections of the consolidated SPP, covering community engagement, sustainable development, outcomes and the subject policies, were published for consultation in April 2009. The consultation closed in June 2009. A further consultation on changes to the sustainable development, climate change, flooding and coastal planning sections and to policy on onshore oil and gas operations and high amenity business locations is running from September 30, 2009 until November 12, 2009. The final consolidated SPP will at published by the end of 2009. More information on the consolidation is available on the SPP home page.
Domestic Microgeneration Equipment Permitted Development Rights
The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Domestic Microgeneration) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2009 (S.S.I. 2009/34) introduced permitted development rights (PDR) for the installation of certain microgeneration equipment on existing domestic buildings. Currently PDR for air source heat pumps and microwind turbines are not included in the Order as it emerged from the consultation that further work was needed to explore the feasibility of introducing permitted development rights for such energy generating equipment. Ministers have therefore commissioned an independent study to examine the issues in further detail, with recommendations expected before the end of the year.