Chamber and committees

Yes, I think that we need to have those discussions. We also need to see greater consistency in where the community benefit money goes. In some areas, it goes to community development trusts; in other areas, it goes direct to local authorities to be distributed. I would like there to be greater consistency in where those payments are distributed. I also want the benefit that a local community derives from a neighbouring project to be more demonstrable. I say that as both a Government minister and a MSP who has quite a substantial onshore wind footprint around my constituency.

No, absolutely. I invite Ragne Low to comment.

There absolutely need to be speedier decisions. That is the point that I was making about having a smoother process to give better certainty to those who are looking to come forward with the applications that we are talking about.

Yes.

Absolutely.

Absolutely, I think that they will have a central role. To go back to Nova Innovation, it is looking at the potential for innovation in the technology of floating solar, which it sees as potentially providing a landmark breakthrough moment for Scotland’s generation capacity. Ms Regan rightly speaks of the potential complementarity, but there are also other markets where the technology can be exported—the company is looking particularly at the Middle East. There are huge opportunities. Those technologies absolutely will be part of our energy mix. As somebody who hails from Orkney, where some of the technologies are being tested, it is exciting to see them coming through so strongly.

The negotiations on the leasing round were conducted by Crown Estate Scotland. However, the Scottish public purse is set to receive a significant amount of revenue over the course of ScotWind, with £750 million through the initial leasing options. The supply chain is important—there is the potential to raise £28 billion-worth of revenue through supply chain work. There will also be on-going rental costs, which could factor in multiple billions of pounds coming back into the Scottish public purse. A significant opportunity has been realised through ScotWind, but I am sure that both Crown Estate Scotland and Government colleagues will learn from that initial process in further leasing rounds.

As part of the discussions that we are having on the energy strategy and just transition plan, we are looking at whether we should have targets for solar and tidal and considering, with the sector, what the targets would look like if we were to have them. As we continue to consider that, we will keep the committee updated on our decisions in that regard.

I read the submission from Solar Energy UK and I am sympathetic to that—we are actively considering the matter. I do not want to pre-empt the on-going process and say whether a target would be appropriate, but suffice to say that we have heard the submission from the industry and we will certainly consider that.

Thank you very much, convener. I appreciate the opportunity to come before the committee so early in my new role, and I also appreciate the work that the committee is doing to investigate what is a really important area of policy.

The Scottish Government’s draft energy strategy and just transition plan sets out the actions needed to transform our energy system in order to reach net zero while delivering maximum benefit for Scotland. We must take the right decisions now to capitalise on the enormous opportunities that the transition offers our economy, our citizens and our climate.

We are fortunate to benefit from vast renewable energy resources, including significant offshore wind potential, substantial tidal energy resources and a well-developed onshore wind sector. Increasing levels of home-grown renewable supply will make energy more affordable and, in combination with technologies such as hydrogen, batteries and pumped storage hydro, we can ensure that power is available when we need it.

Scotland has the potential to be a powerhouse of renewable energy electricity and green hydrogen to meet both our domestic needs and those of Europe, with clean electricity being exported as part of an integrated system with the rest of Europe and support for the decarbonisation of industry across the continent. The significant increase in installed capacity of renewable generation over the coming decade could mean Scotland’s annual electricity generation being more than double its electricity demand by 2030 and more than treble by 2045. That will enable Scotland to meet a large proportion of our demand through renewables alone while still creating an export opportunity for our surplus.

As the energy transition progresses, we will all see changes in the way in which we use our energy resources. For example, we will reduce heat demand by improving the energy efficiency of our homes and non-domestic buildings as well as decarbonise transport. That will come with significant co-benefits for people and society, including improvements in health and wellbeing, and it will contribute positively to a just transition.

Realising that positive vision for our future, however, rests on the delivery of more energy infrastructure. Significant investment in Scotland’s and, indeed, the wider Great Britain electricity grid is needed to ensure clean and cheap renewable electricity can flow to where it is needed. Electricity transmission infrastructure in particular requires huge levels of investment to ensure that the grid does not become a barrier to net zero.

In that context, it is important to acknowledge that we are part of the GB electricity system and the powers in respect of that system are reserved to the United Kingdom Government. As a result, we must work together to enable these critical investments, and we must use all regulatory and policy levers, both reserved and devolved, to ensure full grid decarbonisation, to drive down costs and to increase benefits for customers and communities.

The Scottish Government has been calling for a more agile approach to network regulation for many years now, and the energy regulator’s recent approval of local network business plans for the next five years and the decision to accelerate the delivery of strategic transmission investment are positive steps in that direction. The ambitious programme of infrastructure investment required to meet our net zero and interim targets relies on a high degree of market confidence, so we are clear that the UK Government’s plans to redesign our electricity market through its review of electricity market arrangements—or REMA—must be conducted with sufficient lead time to protect investor confidence and ensure that the critical infrastructure and investment needed today to protect consumers and keep us on the pathway to net zero are not delayed. That is why we are continuing to call for urgent reform to the grid connection, queue management and transmission charging regimes, all of which could lead to transformational change in much quicker time.

We agree that the time taken to consent grid infrastructure projects needs to be accelerated, while still ensuring robust and balanced decision making. However, while the national energy infrastructure planning system has been reformed in England and Wales, which set out a modern consenting regime, the equivalent has not taken place in Scotland, as legislative competence for the energy consenting regime remains reserved to the UK Government, with the Scottish Parliament unable to legislate for the required reform, like elsewhere in the UK. The Scottish Government has proposed solutions to the UK Government that would enable the changes required, and we continue to call on the UK Government to urgently find a legislative solution.

Finally, convener, I thank the committee for its work on this important issue. I look forward to your report, which will provide crucial advice as we prepare our final energy strategy and just transition plan.