Offshore wind energy - draft updated Sectoral Marine Plan 2025: consultation
We are consulting on the draft updated Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy which provides the spatial planning framework for the ScotWind and INTOG leasing rounds.
Open
44 days to respond
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Introduction
The path to net zero presents significant opportunities for Scotland, as a leader in offshore wind development, achievable by providing a stable, consistent and predictable enabling environment.
Robust, timely and proportionate marine planning and consenting systems are one of the key enablers of Scotland’s net zero transition. Scotland is delivering systems that provide clarity and confidence to support development and investment markets, whilst balancing the needs of communities, nature and other users of the marine environment.
Offshore wind energy is one of Scotland’s greatest assets with a potential capital value of around £100 billion[1], given full deployment of the potential pipeline. There are a range of substantial projected benefits linked to the growth of offshore wind in Scotland including job creation, economic regeneration, technology development and investment in marine environment recovery and enhancement.
Scotland’s established sectoral marine planning process for offshore wind energy provides all marine users and decision-makers with clarity on the opportunities and constraints with regards to the sustainable deployment of offshore wind energy.
The approach we are taking in updating the SMP-OWE is innovative and at the forefront of marine planning globally. It will deliver significant benefits for Scotland, including:
- Support for the sustainable deployment of offshore wind in Scottish waters by setting out the environmental, social and economic opportunities and constraints to inform offshore wind licensing and consenting decision making;
- Use of the latest data and scientific understanding to update the spatial planning framework for ScotWind and INTOG. This will support evidence-informed decision making and provide clarity to developers and decision makers;
- The potential to support strategic compensation for projects impacting European protected sites and species, simplifying the determination process for the marine licensing and consenting of Scottish offshore wind projects;
- A thorough and inclusive consultation process enabling engagement with users of the shared marine space to listen to and understand their views and feedback;
- An understanding of the environmental, social and economic impacts and opportunities of offshore wind deployment in Scottish waters to inform both Scottish Ministers’ strategic policy positions on offshore wind development and cross-UK planning frameworks for clean energy.
Delivering a Programme of Reform
Alongside the development of the draft updated SMP-OWE we are working closely and collaboratively with UK government to take forward a programme of work to implement the acceleration and regulatory reform of offshore wind across the UK. This work includes:
UK Energy Act Implementation
- Working with UK Government on a programme of legislative reform to ensure that the new policies are underpinned by an updated legal framework, where required;
- Development of new policy and guidance on how to address the environmental impacts of offshore wind activities through compensatory measures – by Scottish Government for the Scottish inshore region (0-12nm) and UK Government in the Scottish offshore region (beyond 12nm);
- Building a portfolio of strategic compensatory measures for Scottish offshore wind projects; and
- The potential establishment of a Scottish Marine Recovery Fund to accelerate offshore wind consenting and deliver the measures necessary to compensate for the environmental impacts – which requires UK Government to delegate functions under a UK statutory instrument for the operation of such a fund.
Quantifying the Impact on Key Species
- We recognise that there is uncertainty, and a level of precaution associated with the impact assessments conducted for marine birds which can influence the level of confidence in the information available to inform planning and consenting. We are building on evidence and available work to understand the uncertainty associated with offshore wind impact assessments for marine birds to inform the plan level Appropriate Assessment and are committed to using the best available evidence, including available operational data and
- Parallel work packages to inform quantification of impacts for seabirds and marine mammals are being conducted to inform the plan level AA. The methods and findings of this additional work will be detailed in the AA and published separately.
Fisheries and Offshore Wind Coexistence
- We are working with both sectors, maintaining an on-going dialogue, throughout the development of the draft updated SMP-OWE and its assessments to balance the interests of fishers and offshore wind energy developers. A programme of work is underway including:
- A new project to estimate the cumulative impact on fisheries from offshore wind development, cabling, marine protected area designations and other relevant marine polices;
- Scoping solutions with industry to address short-term disruption payment issues; and
- Scoping strategic solutions with industry to offshore wind and fisheries co-existence issues including a number of actions such as skills and retraining opportunities and development of a strategic fisheries fund.
The draft updated SMP-OWE is also set within a wider programme of work.
- We will update our Offshore Wind Policy Statement in 2025/26, to reflect the significant appetite demonstrated through the INTOG and ScotWind leasing rounds.
- We have convened a joint Offshore Wind Skills Short Life Working Group in partnership with industry, the Scottish Trades Union Congress and the public sector which will work towards publishing a joint offshore wind skills action plan in the autumn, and allocated funding in 2025/26 for the college sector to establish and deliver an Offshore Wind Skills Programme.
- We are investing up to £500 million over five years to support market certainty, help create a highly productive, competitive offshore wind economy and support thousands of jobs.
- We are undertaking a review of our Good Practice Principles for community benefits from offshore renewables.
Background to Scotland’s Offshore Wind Sector
Since 2020, Scotland has seen a significant amount of offshore wind energy activity, with eight operational windfarms in Scottish waters, two under construction, and a further twelve under development (subject to an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) scoping or consent application or consented but not yet under construction) (Figure 1). Additional background information is available in Annex B.

Background to ScotWind and INTOG
The SMP-OWE (2020) adopted by Scottish Ministers in 2020. The SMP-OWE (2020) identified 15 spatial PO areas within Scottish waters suitable for the sustainable development of commercial-scale offshore wind projects (>100 megawatts (MW)). It examined 3 deployment scenarios with an upper scenario of 10 gigawatts (GW).
The SMP-OWE (2020) was used by Crown Estate Scotland (CES) to inform the subsequent ScotWind leasing round, in which a total of 20 projects were awarded Option Agreements within the SMP-OWE's 15 spatial POs. These awards reflected developer ambitions beyond the SMP-OWE (2020) scenarios, totalling a potential capacity of up to 27.6 GW over an area of 7,903 km².
An additional 12 projects have accepted Exclusivity Agreements (EA) via the 2023 INTOG leasing round, which was aligned with the spatial parameters set out in the INTOG Initial Plan Framework. This included five innovation (IN) projects, and seven targeted oil and gas (TOG) projects, with proposed capacities of up to 449 MW and 5 GW, respectively.
What Does the Updated SMP-OWE Consider
This draft updated SMP-OWE has been developed in response to the potential generation capacity awarded through CES lease Option Agreements and Exclusivity Agreements, which goes beyond the scenarios outlined in the SMP-OWE 2020. This update also reflects the fast-changing policy context, which has developed dynamically since 2020 and places offshore wind in the forefront of the UK’s transition to a clean energy system.
This draft updated SMP-OWE will optimise the sustainable deployment of offshore wind in Scottish Waters balanced with the needs of other marine users and the marine environment. It will:
- Refine the OAs within the spatial constraints of the POs identified by the SMP-OWE 2020, updating the planning baseline to take account of the level of ambition for offshore wind development in Scottish waters arising from the ScotWind leasing round;
- Build on the INTOG IPF to provide an integrated planning framework for the INTOG leasing round;
- Include a high-level consideration of additional T&D capacity of up to 1GW divided equally across the five Scottish regions identified in this draft updated Plan. This does not constitute a new seabed leasing round but recognises that there may be a need for additional testing, for example floating technology until the technology matures. This will be considered on an ad hoc basis by CES based on levels of demand;
- Consider the potential in-combination impacts of existing and planned offshore arrays and transmission infrastructure; and
- Conduct a high-level assessment of potential environmental, social and economic impacts of storage, construction, operation and maintenance of devices in Scottish waters.