Guidance on BESS (battery energy storage systems) developments: EIR release

Information requested

Whether the Scottish Government have any policy or technical guidance on the development of BESS developments in sensitive areas such as surface water protected areas.

Response

As the information requested is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

In regard to policy on the development of BESS developments in sensitive areas such as surface water protected areas, it may be helpful if I explain that our Fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4), published and adopted by Scottish Government in 2023, sets out national planning policy on renewable energy development, including energy storage. NPF4 is part of the statutory development plan and so influences planning decisions across Scotland. As a matter of law all planning applications must be determined in accordance with the development plan (consisting of NPF4 and the relevant local development plan for the area) unless material considerations indicate otherwise. NPF4 sets out our strategy for working towards a net zero Scotland by 2045 and signals the key priorities for ‘where’ and ‘what’ development should take place at a national level and is combined with national planning policy on ‘how’ development planning should manage change. Policy 11 of NPF4 relates to development proposals for all forms of renewable, low-carbon and zero emissions technologies including battery storage. Policy 11 part e) requires project design and mitigation to demonstrate how impacts, including effects on hydrology, the water environment and flood risk, are addressed.

Scottish Ministers have been clear that NPF4 policies should be read and applied as a whole, and it will be a matter for the decision maker to determine what weight to attach to policies on a case-by-case basis.

In regard to guidance, while our aim is to provide information whenever possible, the Scottish Government has not issued any technical guidance on the development of BESS developments in sensitive areas such as Surface Water Protected Areas. We are therefore refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. This exception is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. While we recognise that there may be some public interest in information about development of BESS in sensitive areas, we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.