'Scotland's renewable future must be a Westminster priority'

Scotland's renewables revolution has been two decades in the making, and the economic opportunities from what comes next could be transformational.

Our ability to seize these depends in no small part on decisions made at Westminster. The choices ahead for any incoming Energy Secretary appointed by the new Prime Minister today are not marginal, and will determine whether Scotland remains at the forefront of the global energy transition or is consigned to watching others take the lead.

We must build a policy base to ensure the long-term sustainability of the sector and where local communities feel the benefit of economic success.

We know that a prosperous future is built on getting decisions right now.

We must not see repeated Westminster failures to invest the revenues of oil and gas in future generations. The consequences of such poor planning is all too stark today and stands in contrast to the approach taken by our neighbours in Norway.

Our nation's natural resources make us an energy powerhouse. 

Scotland's offshore wind project pipeline stands at over 40 gigawatts. That represents billions of pounds of investment, thousands of jobs, and a supply chain that could cement Scotland's position as a global leader in pioneering renewable energy technology for decades to come.

In 2025, Scotland's net electricity exports reached 20.8 terawatt-hours, the equivalent of powering almost 8.9 million homes a year, with an indicative value of £1.7 billion. That speaks to the strategic role Scotland could play as a provider of UK and European energy security, and it is the foundation on which our renewable energy ambitions are built.

What we need now is for the UK Government to meet those ambitions.

First, the incoming Energy Secretary must ensure the upcoming Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP) fully reflects Scotland's established offshore wind pipeline.

Anything less would represent an active choice to undermine investments already committed and under way. Floating offshore wind in particular must be treated as a strategic national economic opportunity, not a footnote. The incumbent Energy Secretary declared it as being "at the heart of the government's mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower." These warm words now need to be matched by clear decisions.

Transmission charging must also be reformed. Scotland's renewable energy generators continue to be penalised by a fundamentally unfair transmission charging system that distorts the market and undermines competitiveness. It must be replaced with a framework that properly reflects the strategic value of renewable generation in Scotland and ends an arrangement that makes no sense economically or in terms of the UK's own net zero ambitions.

Developers need clarity on grid connections. Delays cost time and confidence. Every month of uncertainty is a month in which investment decisions are deferred, supply chain commitments stall and competitors in other markets move ahead. This is not a minor administrative matter; it is a fundamental test of whether the UK is serious about delivery.

Finally, network investment decisions must align with where Scotland's renewable energy resource actually sits. Building infrastructure now will prevent the energy waste and consumer cost of constraint payments to switch wind farms off when the grid cannot keep up.

However, all of this will be futile if the new Energy Secretary does not commit to full delivery of Scotland's offshore wind pipeline in the SSEP. Floating wind in particular is a national industrial opportunity where Scotland has a global competitive advantage. It has the potential to support investment, grow the supply chain, develop port infrastructure and drive economic growth across Scotland and the wider UK. It deserves to be treated accordingly.

Industry and stakeholders must be meaningfully engaged. That means greater transparency on the modelling assumptions, methodologies and pathway choices that underpin recommendations, so that decisions command genuine confidence and proper scrutiny. Choices that affect billions of pounds of investment and thousands of jobs should not be made behind closed doors.

ScotWind developers have made substantial supply chain commitments. The average predicted spend per project in Scotland currently stands at £1.6 billion, rising to around £2.4 billion per project across the whole of the UK. These are not speculative figures. They are the product of years of planning and confidence-building.

The Scottish Government is acting now to help deliver on the game-changing growth potential of the sector. Our investment to date of over £150 million has leveraged up to £675 million in private capital and £70 million from UK public finance institutions into supply chain and ports projects that could support up to 5,000 jobs. These are real jobs for real people in communities the length and breadth of Scotland, directly linked to the future of our offshore wind industry.

Scotland has the resource, the ambition and the investment in motion. What we need now is a UK Government willing to back it to secure jobs, investment, energy security and economic growth that can benefit communities for generations to come.