SCOTTISH Renewables has appointed lawyer Patricia Hawthorn as its new chairman.

Ms Hawthorn, a partner at Shepherd and Wedderburn, has been vice-chairman at the industry organisation since 2013.

She has more than 30 years of legal experience with recent work including the consent of four offshore wind farms planned for UK waters.

She replaces the outgoing Ronnie Bonnar, the managing director of Repsol Nuevas Energias UK.

Gordon MacDougall, managing director for western Europe at RES, moves to become vice-chairman at Scottish Renewables.