Number of objections received by the Energy Consents Unit: EIR release

Information requested

1. Could you please tell me the total number of objects received by the Energy Consents Unit in relation to the Kintore to Tealing 400 kV Overhead Line Connection application please?

2. Could you also tell me the number of objections received by the Energy Consents Unit in relation to the Beauly to Blackhillock to New Deer to Peterhead 400kV OHL application please?

Response

As the information you have 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.

The answers to your questions about the number of objections received by the Energy Consents Unit, as of 01 April 2026, are as follows:

1. Kintore to Tealing 400 kV Overhead Line connection: 10,431 objections from the public as representations, and 9 objections from consultees.

2. Beauly to Blackhillock to New Deer to Peterhead 400 kV Overhead Line connection: 2,396 objections from the public as representations, and 15 objections from consultees.

This information is also publicly available on the Energy Consents Portal, which publishes all documents associated with applications submitted to the Energy Consents Unit. To access this information, please visit the Scottish Government – Energy Consents Unit – Application Details page. You can locate the relevant project by entering the project name into the search bar on the portal’s homepage. Once the project page opens, representations can be viewed by selecting ‘Representations’, as well as ‘Documents’ and then ‘Public Representations’. These can be exported in various file formats for further analysis. Consultation responses are also viewable on the ‘Documents’ page.

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.