Scottish Marine Recovery Fund: interim guidance

Overview

The Scottish Government believes that building a sustainable and resilient energy future for Scotland is central to delivering on the combined agenda for economic growth and a successful transition to net zero.  

A net zero future is essential to tackling the climate emergency and biodiversity loss, two of the biggest threats of our time.

As recognised in the Green Industrial Strategy 2024 the development of the offshore wind sector in Scotland offers opportunities to be a global leader in floating offshore wind, build manufacturing capacity and create new employment opportunities. Scotland can maximise these opportunities by providing the right enabling environment to offer certainty to the market and stimulate the private investment needed.

That is why tackling the climate emergency through action to maximise the environmental and economic benefits from Scotland’s vast renewable energy wealth is one of the four key priorities in Scotland’s Programme for Government 2025–2026. To deliver that, we are committed to improving planning and the pace of consenting to support investment in Scotland’s offshore wind sector.

We are working in partnership with the UK Government to use the opportunities provided by the Energy Act 2023 to deliver ambitious policy and regulatory reforms. This includes the establishment of a Scottish Marine Recovery Fund, which will help to deliver a more streamlined process for securing compensation for adverse environmental effects of relevant offshore wind activities.

This interim guidance provides information on the proposals for a Scottish Marine Recovery Fund, including:

• purpose of Marine Recovery Funds
• impacts addressed by the Fund
• who can apply
• accessing compensation measures
• referencing the Fund in consent applications
• available compensation measures
• definitions

We will develop the proposals included in the interim guidance after consultation in summer 2025. We will provide more information on proposals for the Scottish Marine Recovery Fund as part of the public consultation.