Turbulent times for onshore wind in Scotland

This article was first published in The Herald.

Onshore wind projects are central to Scotland’s renewable energy ambitions, with an installed capacity of over 10.5GW (as of Q4 2025), and 18.1GW in the pipeline.

However, projects face a number of challenges during the consenting process which threaten to blow onshore wind off course.

Time

National Planning Framework 4 (”NPF4”) designates onshore wind exceeding 50MW capacity as ‘national development’. Designation as a national development means that the need for the development has already been established and its delivery should be facilitated.

Developments over 50MW require consent under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 (”S.36 consent”) from Scottish Ministers before they can be built. Since NPF4 was adopted in February 2023, 3.2GW of onshore wind has been consented in Scotland. However, the average time for S.36 applications to be determined is over two years if a public local inquiry (”PLI”) is not needed, and almost four years if a PLI is held (the need for a PLI is triggered by an objection by the local authority).

Scotland’s 18.1GW pipeline includes 10.3GW of projects with a submitted application still awaiting determination. Determination times of two to four years risk derailing the delivery of 20GW of onshore wind by 2030.

The UK and Scottish Governments have taken steps to speed up decision times for S.36 applications. The Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 gives the Reporters appointed by Scottish Ministers more flexibility around how they choose to consider applications to which the local authority has objected.

Rather than being required to hold PLIs (often criticised for being expensive and time-consuming), Reporters will be able to determine the application without requiring any further procedure, invite written submissions on discrete topics, or hold hearing or inquiry sessions if discussion of topics would be beneficial. This mirrors the approach already taken with planning appeals in Scotland since 2009.

At the Scottish Renewables’ Planning Conference in April, the Chief Reporter warned that an unprecedented caseload meant target dates for decisions are unlikely to be met, highlighting the need for reform.

Resourcing

The Scottish Government has also recently consulted on increasing the application threshold for S.36 consents from the current 50MW to 100MW or 150MW. This would reduce the volume of applications going to Scottish Ministers, with local authorities taking responsibility for more projects through the planning application process.

However, industry concerns have been raised about the resource capacity of local authorities to handle more electricity applications, particularly as onshore wind projects are typically located within just a small number of Scottish authorities.

Reporters are being recruited, and the Energy Consents Unit (“ECU”) (which handles all S.36 applications) has significantly increased staff numbers in the last few years. It may be that they are better placed to handle these applications.

Planning applications refused by local authorities can be appealed to Scottish Ministers, and so if the threshold is increased there is a real likelihood that applications between 50MW and 100/150MW which are refused by local authorities will end up being determined by Scottish Ministers anyway, but only after a delay, which Scotland’s renewable energy ambitions cannot afford.

Environmental impact assessment

A recent decision by the Court of Session (Raeshaw Farms Limited v Scottish Ministers), raises challenges for those seeking to deliver projects.

In that case the Court held that the Reporter should have considered whether the wind farm and associated grid connection constituted a ‘single project’ for the purpose of environmental impact assessment.

Prior to the Court ruling it was widely accepted that a grid connection could be assessed separately from the onshore wind farm. The Court did not rule that a wind farm and its grid connection must be treated as a single project. However, the issue should be considered on a project-by-project basis, taking all the relevant factors into account.

While developers and decision-makers grapple with the implications of the Court’s decision, this is likely to cause a delay to projects at all stages of the application process. In fact, the decision has already led to the ECU and the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division issuing requests for further information on current and proposed projects.

Consenting is a critical part of the path to Scotland’s 2030 ambitions, and significant delays could put 20GW beyond the horizon. With four years to go, fast and robust decision-making is more important than ever.

If you have any questions about consenting, or any of the other topics raised in this article, please contact a member of our Clean Energy team.

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