Onshore Electricity Generation: Consultation on increasing the threshold for applications under The Electricity Act – Partial Business And Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA)

Section 2: Engagement and information gathering

Engagement approach

The Scottish Government has worked closely with internal and external stakeholders when developing our approach to potentially increasing the 50MW threshold. This work has also been informed by public consultation and evidence gathering.

Internal SG engagement

The proposals have been developed through close working between officials in the Scottish Government’s Planning, Architecture and Regeneration Directorate (PARD) and Directorate for Energy and Climate Change (DECC). This recognises that changing the 50MW threshold is likely to impact on the balance of applications made under the Town and Country (Scotland) Act 1997, as amended, and the Electricity Act 1989. Additional input was sought from the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA), the local government relationships team and the Scottish Government Legal Directorate (SGLD).

UK/Devolved Administrations

Responsibility for planning and the granting of energy consents is devolved to the Scottish Government, and it is unlikely that changing the 50MW threshold in Scotland will affect planning and consenting regimes in England and Wales.

Under plans announced in their Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, the UK Government have signalled their intention to reintroduce on-shore wind into their Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP) consenting regime with a threshold of 100MW and to alter the threshold for solar to 100MW. For BESS applications, The Electricity Storage Facilities (Exemption) (England and Wales) Order 2020 says that all applications for BESS should be decided by planning authorities at a local level, regardless of electricity generation capacity.

The Scottish Government has been engaging with the UK Government on reforms to the Electricity Act 1989. These reforms are included in the UK Government’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill and seek to better align the consenting process under the Electricity Act 1989 with the planning processes set out under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, as amended.

Specifically, the reforms seek to introduce a statutory requirement for pre-application engagement with communities, and to make changes to the process that applies when objections are made. At present, a public local inquiry (PLI) must be held when planning authorities raise objections, within statutory timeframes, to new energy infrastructure.

Proposed reforms include changes such that ministers appoint an independent reporter to make an examination into the application, giving them powers to determine what form that examination takes. By ensuring that a more proportionate process is in place, these reforms could also help accelerate decision-making under the Electricity Act 1989.

Wider Public Sector

In addition to the feedback received following the Scottish Government’s Investing in Planning Consultation, officials undertook targeted engagement including with representatives from COSLA and the Heads of Planning Scotland (HOPS) during July and August 2025.

During this engagement, it was highlighted that views on increasing the 50MW threshold were generally consistent across all local authorities, although there is some geographical variation. Many local authorities consider that increasing the 50MW threshold would have a positive impact on local authority resourcing and would allow for greater local accountability in decision-making. Planning authorities also highlighted that this change would address a strategic need to remove the duplication of effort involved in processing Electricity Act applications and help ensure that developments are appropriately located and built out well on the ground.

International

Increasing the 50MW threshold will affect those submitting applications for electricity generating stations in Scotland. Whilst most applications will be made by organisations based in Scotland, those submitting applications internationally will also be affected by the change.

Public Consultation

Our Investing in Planning Consultation (February 2024) invited views on whether the 50MW threshold should be altered, whether different thresholds should apply for different technologies, and on the likely resourcing implications of increasing the threshold. The consultation asked two questions.

• Should the current threshold of 50MW for applications for electricity generation which are to be determined by authorities be altered?

This question received 101 responses with 83 respondents providing comments. Of those responding to this question, 41 respondents agreed that the threshold should be altered, 20 disagreed, and 40 expressed no view.

• Should different thresholds apply to different types of generating stations?

This question received 91 responses with 62 respondents providing comments. Of those responding to the question, 26 agreed different thresholds should apply, 27 disagreed, and 38 expressed no view.

A full summary of responses to the consultation can be found online.

Business / Third Sector engagement

In addition to the feedback received following the Scottish Government’s Investing in Planning Consultation, officials undertook targeted engagement with representatives from Scottish Renewables and Solar Energy Scotland in July and August 2025.

This engagement indicated that the renewable energy industry was largely not in favour of increasing the 50MW threshold. Reasons given were that members value the strategic oversight and consistency which can be afforded where decision-making is centralised. Industry respondents also commented that procedures under the Electricity Act are well-established and understood, supporting confidence in decision-making.

Views from the third sector were provided by RSPB in August 2025 with proposals also highlighted to Scottish Environment Link members. Feedback indicated that third sector groups would generally welcome an increase to the 50MW threshold.

Evidence Gathering

In addition to the consultation and engagement work described above, evidence has been gathered to draw out further detail on the benefits and disadvantages of increasing the 50MW threshold.

Information about the determination and approval of applications submitted to planning authorities and the ECU was gathered using published Planning Application Statistics from 2024/25, alongside the equivalent operational statistics for 2024/25 held by ECU. Additional statistics on appeals and Public Local Inquiries (PLIs) held during 2024/25 were provided by DPEA.

Publicly available information from the Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD) has also been used to understand the profile and status of energy projects currently in the planning system. The most recent data set available at the time of writing was from Q2 2025.