Community benefits from net zero energy developments consultation: engagement findings report
Report by the Scottish Community Development Centre, commissioned by the Scottish Government, on findings from community engagement undertaken as part of our consultation on Community Benefits from Net Zero Energy Developments.
1. Introduction
In December 2024, the Scottish Government commissioned the Scottish Community Development Centre (SCDC) to plan, organise and facilitate a series of community conversations to support its public consultation on Community Benefits from Net Zero Energy Developments, as part of the review of the Good Practice Principles for community benefits from onshore and offshore renewable energy developments in Scotland.
The focus of the conversations was to engage with people in communities across Scotland to explore some of the themes in the public consultation. Overall objectives for the engagement sessions were to:
- Gather views from a diversity of people in communities across Scotland on the opportunities for, and challenges of, delivering tangible and meaningful community benefits from onshore and offshore renewable energy developments.
- Increase understanding of community benefits from renewable energy, which is often seen as a complex area of policy spanning reserved and devolved powers.
- Increase awareness of and participation in the Scottish Government’s public consultation on Community Benefits from Net Zero Energy Developments.
From January to April 2025, SCDC worked closely with the Scottish Government to plan and deliver a targeted engagement programme to achieve the objectives set out above.