The Scottish Government debated the introduction of the UK Energy Bill on 17 January 2008. The Scottish Government welcomed the Bill and its promotion of renewable energy, and also:-

• Welcomed the support for emerging technologies and for carbon capture and storage;
• Emphasised that no new nuclear power stations are wanted in Scotland (the provisions on decommissioning within the Bill should not extend to Scotland);
• It foresees a low-carbon, non-nuclear energy future for Scotland;
• Highlighted the role for enterprise networks to achieve this;
• Renewables to remain a priority for funding;
• Highlighted the importance of improved energy efficiency from better insulated buildings in the reduction of carbon emissions.

The White Paper on Nuclear Power confirmed the UK Government’s view that it would be in the public interest to give the energy companies the option of investing in new nuclear power stations. There has been interest expressed from power companies from Germany and France in building nuclear plants in the UK. It is worth noting that France generates 80% of their electricity from nuclear power stations and their CO2 emissions are a tenth of that of the UK’s. The Energy Bill provides that operators would be responsible for the decommissioning of any new nuclear power stations and also the costs of waste management and disposal during the lifetime of the station. The Energy Bill essentially provides a legislative framework to ensure energy companies which operate new nuclear power stations would have sufficient funds to cover the full decommissioning costs and waste management costs.

Although Energy Policy is not devolved, essentially the planning system is and the Scottish Ministers are required to give consent under the Electricity (Scotland) Act 1989 to the construction of new power stations above a certain size. Politically, the Scottish Government appears to be against nuclear power as highlighted by John Swinney’s (Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth) comment, in response to John Hutton’s comments on nuclear power and the UK Energy Bill, that “New statistics show that Scotland in 2006 supplied 92.5% of its energy needs from fossil fuels, renewables and pumped hydro storage. The risks and uncertainties of new nuclear power, in terms of waste disposal, decommissioning, security and health concerns, or cost, are obviously far too great.” He also expressed concerns that nuclear power will not only come at a cost to the development of new technologies, but may create the prospect of increased electricity prices for the Scottish consumer to fund the decommissioning of English nuclear power stations.

The 2007 Energy White Paper highlighted the importance of the planning system in delivering the necessary energy infrastructure to meet our national needs. This will be crucial for Scotland as it tries to meet the challenging targets of 50% of Scotland’s electricity to be from renewables by 2020 (with an interim target of 31% by 2011) and the much publicised carbon emissions reduction of 80% by 2050. While the planning system in Scotland is undergoing major changes on the back of the Town & Country Planning (Scotland) Act 2006, much of the emerging new planning system and policy guidance seems to be dealing with the increasing importance of utilising Scotland’s natural renewables resources to support our energy needs and reduce carbon emissions.

The Consultative Draft National Planning Framework 2 (NPF2) identifies key improvements to the electricity transmission system (including grid access) and Scotland’s energy mix as being crucial to meeting the national targets. Energy generation is to be encouraged from sources such as local heat and power schemes, decentralised energy production and micro-generation. There is an inherent move towards meeting the energy targets through a more dispersed pattern of energy generation and supply rather than solely relying upon the larger national projects to meet our energy requirements. Planning authorities are encouraged to facilitate this decentralisation through the Development Plan process.

Scottish Planning Policy 6 (SPP6), published in March 2007, provides a planning framework to ensure the delivery of renewable energy targets and provides support for the development of a viable renewables industry in Scotland. SPP6 sets out how the planning system should manage the process of encouraging, approving and implementing renewable energy proposals when preparing development plans and determining planning applications. Hydro and onshore wind power are highlighted as the biggest contributors to renewable energy in Scotland with a wider mix of wave, tidal and landfill gas technologies expected to increase in the long term. On a domestic level, micro wind turbines, wood chip boilers, heat pumps and solar heating are expected to be some of the main contributors at this level.

Rural communities are encouraged to invest in ownership of renewable energy projects and develop local projects for local benefit. The Scottish Ministers believe that the demand created by this local investment will potentially develop into a thriving renewables industry in Scotland, including local industries within rural areas. Development Plans should support all technologies with clarity for developers, communities and individuals. Renewable benefits related to developments should be found to be of material consideration when assessing planning applications. To encourage investment, grant assistance is also available for householders, community groups, builders and developers for investment in a range of renewable energy technologies.

The built environment is recognised as being one of the biggest contributors to CO2 emissions. SPP6 sets a target for all future applications for proposed development, with a total cumulative floorspace of 500 square metres or more, to incorporate on-site zero and low carbon equipment contributing at least an extra 15% reduction in CO2 emissions. Again, this will be a material consideration in the assessment of any planning application. The Scottish Building Regulations 2007 are to provide the baseline for the percentage reduction in CO2 emissions. The new Scottish Planning Advice Note, PAN 84 (Reducing Carbon Emissions in New Development), published March 2008, provides information and guidance to planning authorities on implementing this target.

The guidance in PAN 84 provides an opportunity to reduce carbon emissions by improving the efficiency of buildings and utilising on-site low and zero carbon equipment. Addressing the energy issues of development at the design stage is intended to reduce energy demand and increased reliance on low and zero carbon equipment. The equipment may be situated on a building or within the development site for the benefit of a number of buildings. If carbon savings are not possible on-site, a planning authority may seek to secure a Section 75 Agreement for contributions towards other carbon saving measures.

In further support of SPP6, the Scottish Government have issued a consultation document on Permitted Development Rights for Domestic Microgeneration Equipment. The deadline for responses to this consultation paper is 12 May 2008. The proposals to be implemented under the draft Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2008 permit certain types of development which do not require planning permission. The types of development to be permitted include solar water heating, small wind turbines, biomass boilers, hydro electric generators and combined heat and power systems. Without the potential costs and delays associated with obtaining planning permission, it is hoped that this may encourage a greater uptake of microgeneration; provide a sustainable source of low carbon energy; and reduce CO2 emissions from buildings.

The principal objective of the UK Energy Bill is to update the legislative framework and make it more appropriate for today’s energy market. The implementation of the Bill will rely heavily upon the ability of the planning system or Scottish Ministers to deliver the necessary energy infrastructure to meet our national needs. The emerging planning system in Scotland is increasingly giving support to the development of renewable energy and carbon emission reductions created by the built environment. While grants are available for  individuals, local communities and developers who invest in renewable energy projects, the extra costs on development to accommodate renewable energy and carbon emission reduction technology may run the risk of being passed onto the consumer and potential to affect property prices. Scotland has an abundance of natural resources that could be used to allow us to meet our renewable energy and carbon emission reduction targets without the need for nuclear power. The question which remains to be answered is whether there will be enough infrastructure investment and development within the renewable energy industry to allow these resources to be fully utilised along with adequate protection for the consumer against bearing much of the cost?