Response to Scottish Government’s Draft Onshore Wind Policy Statement homologated 

Members of Highland Council’s Economy & Infrastructure Committee today (2 February) homologated the local authority’s response to the Scottish Government’s Draft Onshore Wind Policy Statement refresh.

The refreshed Policy Statement was published in October 2021 and would see the installed onshore wind capacity more than double by the end of the decade. This will have significant implications for resourcing the Council’s response to meeting the Government’s ambition for the remainder of this decade.

Scotland currently has 8.4GW of installed onshore wind capacity. 97% of Scotland’s electricity consumption is now produced from renewable sources; 71% of which is from onshore wind. Nationally there is around a further 5GW consented and not yet built with a similar capacity in the planning process; 1.1GW of which is in Highland alone.

Highland has already made a significant contribution, with 1.85GW installed capacity and a further 900MW either in construction or consented but not yet built, and as one of the windiest parts of the country it is no surprise that there is sustained interest in developing more. There will continue to be pressure to develop onshore wind in Highland for the foreseeable future and at least the remainder of this decade until sufficient offshore wind capacity comes on stream.

Chair of the Economy & Infrastructure Committee, Cllr Trish Robertson, said: “This Policy Statement refresh is broadly similar to the current 2017 Statement. The update considers the financial mechanisms available to aid deployment, the barriers to deployment, the need to secure the economic benefits while also enabling community benefit payments and the growth in shared ownership. A key difference is the extent of the challenging ambition.”

She added: “Given the contribution that Highland makes to the Scottish installed capacity it is anticipated that the Council will continue to come under pressure to accommodate yet more.”

Members expressed concern that a substantial increase in onshore wind deployment will lead to conflict with other existing land uses and resource, such as farming, forestry and peatland. This has the potential to impact negatively on Highland’s stored carbon, but could also result in some positive benefits arising from peatland restoration, new woodland creation and enhanced biodiversity.

On a more positive note, there is potential for wider economic benefit. While the manufacture of turbine components is well established outside Scotland there may still be opportunities in retrofitting and/or new manufacturing if this can be linked to the offshore market.

Cllr Robertson added: “Highland already has an established supply chain for onshore wind and an emerging one in respect of offshore wind and hydrogen. It also has some of the best suited ports to meet the needs of the renewables sector.”

Cllr Robertson commented: “New development, while being appropriately designed and located, also needs to consider its role in supporting a distributed energy system and community aspiration, which may include employment, financial incentive and/or ownership, in order to be accepted.

“It would need to be seen as a direct benefit to its location. This suggests that there is a need for a plan-led approach to future onshore wind, one that better reflects local circumstances albeit with an eye on national priorities.”

She added: “While the draft Statement hints at the need for some form of spatial plan – or sectoral plan – as has been advanced in the recent ScotWind offshore wind leasing exercise - there is no detail on what that may look like.

“Again, while hinted, NPF4 does not explicitly refer to a spatial framework or provide an opportunity or procedure for preparing such a framework. This should be considered a significant omission.”