Fees
On 5 April 2013 a new fee structure for applications under The Electricity Act will come into force. You can find full details of the revisions here.
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Gatecheck Process Guidance
The link below is for the recently completed Gate-checking Proposal document.
Gate-checking Proposal
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Good Practice Guidance
The link below is for the recently completed Good Practice Guidance document, which details the Scottish Government's approach to the requirements of the consenting process.
Good Practice Guidance
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Scoping
The first step for developers planning to submit an application is to contact the consents unit to arrange a pre-scoping meeting. The scoping process is set out below, together with relevant contact details to initiate the procedure.
Information on the Scoping process
Scoping flow chart
Application
- An application pack containing details of the timetable for consent, an application and environmental statement checklist, advert templates, a fees guide and other useful information is available.
- Developers are now required to calculate potential carbon losses and savings from wind farms on Scottish peatlands. In 2008, the Scottish Government published research which included an Excel Spreadsheet carbon calculator tool, which developers were encouraged to use. In June 2011, the Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism announced the culmination of further research and the publication of version two of the calculator. He explained that developers are now required to use the tool, which will be validated by SEPA. Full details are available at www.scotland.gov.uk/WindFarmsAndCarbon - including a technical note, the latest version of the calculator, guidance, a report on the update to version two of the calculator, and the research report (Calculating Carbon Savings from Wind Farms on Scottish Peatlands - A New Approach. Nayak et al., 2008; Nayak et al., 2010 and Smith et al., 2011).
- It is vital that new projects promote community engagement in the planning process and ensure that barriers to this engagement are minimised. It is therefore good practice that developers when applying for Electricity Act consent in areas where Gaelic is predominantly spoken, place all public notices regarding the development in both the English and Gaelic languages. It is for the developer to ensure that the public notices for their development are translated correctly.
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Environmental
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Planning
National planning policy on renewable energy is currently set out in the Scottish Planning Policy ( SPP). It encourages Planning Authorities to include renewable energy policies in their development plans and to identify broad areas of search for wind farms. It also identifies the issues which Planning Authorities must consider when deciding planning applications. The policy also applies to our processing of section 36 applications (and will also apply to section 37 where applicable).
The sections of the SPP which concern Landscape and Natural Heritage, Green Belts, and the Historic Environment are also relevant.
Planning Advice on Renewable Energy is available, along with documents on
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Community Benefit
Following public consultation, the Scottish Government has set up a Public Register of community benefits related to renewables projects in order to encourage full transparency on this matter. The Register is currently being managed on behalf of the Scottish Government by Community Energy Scotland (CES) as part of the Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES).
Ministers would expect to see developers enter details of all wind farms granted consent in the Register as a matter of good practice.
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Tourism
Economic Research Findings: The Economic Impacts of Wind Farms on Scottish Tourism. Report commissioned by Glasgow Caledonian University to assess whether Government priorities for wind farms in Scotland are likely to have an economic impact on Scottish tourism.
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Aviation
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South of Scotland Regional Aviation Solution
Presentations from Radar Feasibility Report Seminar - 19 March
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Eskdalemuir Seismic Array
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Marine
- Marine Scotland is the central point of contact for matters relating to offshore wind, wave and tidal licensing and consenting.
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Biomass
Scottish Government Biomass Scoping Advice - February 2010