Question reference: S5W-32728
- Asked by: Angus MacDonald, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 22 October 2020
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Current status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 28 October 2020
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the publication of the final Offshore Wind Policy Statement.
Answer
We intend to publish the final Offshore Wind Policy Statement later today, in line with the commitments we set out in the Programme for Government.
The Policy Statement will be available to view on the Scottish Government website from today here:
Offshore Wind Policy Statement - https://www.gov.scot/ISBN/978-1-80004-237-7
The Offshore Wind Policy Statement (OWPS) sets out the Scottish Government’s ambitions for offshore wind in Scotland out to 2030 in the context of our world leading 2045 net zero commitment and our green recovery focus. It outlines the huge potential for this technology, particularly floating offshore wind, and assesses the significant economic opportunity of future commercial scale deployment. Scotland has excellent offshore wind expertise and is recognised as having one of the best wind regimes anywhere in the World in which to deploy projects.
The OWPS has been informed by stakeholder consultation and engagement. This included public consultation on the draft OWPS between December 2019 and March 2020. The OWPS has been published alongside a Consultation Analysis Report, detailing the responses received during consultation.
The Scottish Government is also publishing the final Sectoral Marine Plan for offshore wind. The Plan provides the spatial framework for the first cycle of seabed leasing for commercial-scale offshore wind in Scottish waters. It identifies 15 Plan Options, including sites suitable for the deployment of floating and fixed technologies, capable of generating up to 10 GW of electricity, in this plan alone. The publication of the Sectoral Marine Plan will enable Crown Estate Scotland to progress the seabed leasing programme (“ScotWind”) and close the application window.
We have worked closely across portfolios on the preparation of these documents, at both Ministerial and official levels, to ensure consistency.