Offshore wind energy - draft updated Sectoral Marine Plan: partial business and regulatory impact assessment
The purpose of the business and regulatory impact assessment for the draft updated Sectoral Marine Plan for offshore wind energy is to determine where the implementation of the Plan may have impacts on regulatory processes.
Section 4: Next steps and implementation
Recommendations/ preferred options
In order to align to both Scottish and UK environmental legislation, and Scottish Government policy, the option to update the SMP-OWE is recommended. The existing SMP-OWE 2020 requires an updated SEA, SEIA and HRA to be completed, as well as other internal assessment, to reflect new evidence and data available following the outputs of both the ScotWind and INTOG leasing rounds. The option to update the SMP-OWE is also favoured as it will consider mitigation and management required to support the increased scale of development, including INTOG, compared to that assessed for in the current SMP-OWE. Scottish Ministers have also already agreed to undertaking an IPR of the SMP-OWE, as this was a government commitment set out in the Programme for Government 2024-25. Updating the SMP-OWE will benefit MD-LOT regulatory processes and streamline application processing, as well as providing an updated strategic planning framework for consideration when making licensing and consenting decisions on offshore wind energy developments. Due to commitments made by the government, and the outcomes from the BRIA costs-benefits analysis, updating the SMP-OWE is the recommended option.
Implementation considerations/ plan
The current plan is to progress with updating the SMP-OWE in line with the IPR process as set out in the SMP-OWE 2020, and consider INTOG, as set out in the IPF. Following ministerial approval, consultation on a draft updated Plan is scheduled for Spring 2025, with a finalised draft Plan scheduled for Autumn 2025 and adoption and publication following as soon as possible thereafter. Engagement with stakeholders will continue throughout this process, in the form of Steering Group meetings where updated assessments will be shared with members for feedback.
The draft updated SMP-OWE, along with the assessments, will be subject to public consultation for a period of 12 weeks. This will involve publishing the consultation on citizen space, and running regional in-person and online events to provide further engagement with the general public and stakeholders. Following the consultation, responses will be analysed and reviewed by officials, which will then inform any finalisation of the updated SMP-OWE. The Steering Group will have an opportunity to review the final updated SMP-OWE and subject to ministerial approval, it will be published and adopted, where it can then be considered in any relevant ministerial decisions from then onwards. Once adopted, the updated SMP-OWE will from then onwards also supersede and replace the SMP-OWE 2020.
Post implementation review
Once the updated SMP-OWE is adopted, it will supersede the SMP-OWE 2020 and the Iterative Review Process as outlined in the 2020 Plan. Reviews of the updated SMP-OWE will only take place when Scottish Minister consider this necessary in relation to new evidence or information available at the time.
Officials will monitor the effectiveness of the updated SMP-OWE going forward through a proposed plan-level monitoring programme, which would monitor and mitigate any significant adverse environmental effects of implementing the updated SMP-OWE. This monitoring programme would also confirm if proposed mitigation measures set out have been implemented, and would be informed by resources available at project, regional and national level, existing licensing authority reporting tools, pre- and post- consent documentation, and outputs of strategic research programmes.