On 15 February Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced her surprise resignation after more than eight years in the role.
Scotland’s longest-serving First Minister, Sturgeon led the Scottish National Party (SNP) in three general elections, two Scottish parliamentary elections and two Scottish local elections.
The Scottish renewable energy industry has experienced significant growth during Sturgeon’s time in office. According to data from Scottish Renewables the total installed renewable capacity in Scotland grew from 7,340MW in 2014 when Sturgeon became First Minister to 12,256 MW in 2021 – an almost 5GW increase.
Ahead of the SNP’s next election on 13 March to find Nicola Sturgeon’s successor, Current± takes a look at Sturgeon’s time in office from an energy point of view, exploring significant milestones in growth of the renewables sector.
Government funding and policies: Welcoming a green era of renewables
A number of support schemes have been announced by the Scottish Government to fund the decarbonisation of its energy sector since Sturgeon became First Minister.
For example, in 2017 Sturgeon announced the £60 million Innovation Fund for battery storage and other low-carbon energy infrastructure such as electric vehicle (EV) charging, as part of Scotland’s Programme for Government.
Near the beginning of her term in office, Sturgeon was already advocating greater support for renewable energy in Scotland. Describing the country as an “energy powerhouse” Sturgeon said:
“Energy security is a crucial matter for everyone and making sure that we have the right kind of energy that not only looks after our needs going forward, but also looks after our planet is a key priority for the Scottish Government.”
According to Sturgeon climate change is a top priority for the Programme for Government and in 2019 she unveiled a number of green finance policies, including a Green New Deal, which incorporated a £3 billion Green Investment Portfolio.
The Green New Deal also established the UK’s first mission-led development bank, the Scottish National Investment Bank.
Launched in 2020, the bank promised to provide £2 billion patient capital for business and projects in Scotland with a particular focus on net zero. To date, the bank has invested in a number of technologies – including EV and heat pump projects – set to accelerate Scotland’s journey to net zero.
As the uptake of renewables accelerates, an important consideration for the Scottish Government was to ensure a “just transition”. To this end, Sturgeon announced a £100 million Green Jobs Fund that will be paid out until 2025 supporting the creation and development of green jobs across Scotland.
Key policy proposals indicate that the Scottish renewable industry will continue its upward trajectory. At the beginning of this year the Scottish Government published its Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan draft, which proposed the following targets: adding 20GW of renewable electricity generation capacity by 2030; 5GW of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen power in 2030 and 25GW by 2045; and accelerating the decarbonisation of transport and domestic heat.
The emerging Scottish solar industry
Although Scotland’s installed renewable capacity is dominated by onshore and offshore wind (the figures stood as 8,845MW and 2,086MW respectively at Q3 2022 according to Scottish Renewables) recent developments in the Scottish renewable energy market have triggered an increased focus on the country’s solar potential.
The tail-end of last year saw a number of progressive policies and promises from the Scottish Government to accelerate the uptake of both domestic and utility-scale solar.
In October 2022, the Scottish Government pledged to consider lifting the requirement to obtain planning permission for larger solar installations on non-domestic buildings to accelerate and simplify the process for large-scale solar installations.
Sturgeon recognised the significant contribution that solar could have for the decarbonisation of Scotland’s energy system and promised a “clear vision” for the future of solar at the beginning of this year. This decision was welcomed by the Scottish industry and hailed as a “more progressive path” for Scotland.
Accordingly, the Government outlined the draft of its Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, which recognised the “significant appetite” for solar in Scotland and promised to bolster contributions to solar projects to increase its 767MW of photovoltaic (PV) capacity.
The Scottish solar industry rallied in a call for a clear solar capacity target (suggesting an ambition of 4-6GW) to anchor the Government’s support in renewables. Alongside cheaper energy, Solar Energy Scotland stated that a minimum target of 4GW of solar could support at least 3,000 direct jobs and £2.5 billion in economic activity.
If the Scottish Government maintains and develops its support, the country’s solar has a bright future; already Scottish Renewables has reported that the country has 958MW of solar projects in various stages of development.
The future of renewables in Scotland
The groundwork for a promising future in renewables for Scotland has been set out during Sturgeon’s time in office.
According to Scottish Renewables, Scotland has over 17GW of planned renewable capacity in development including: 11.24GW of onshore wind; 3.93GW offshore wind; 958MW of solar; and 317MW of wave and tidal.
In response to Sturgeon’s resignation Emily Rice, policy analyst at Solar Energy Scotland said:
“Nicola Sturgeon has been at the centre of Scottish Politics for two decades and her departure marks a time of transition for Scotland. She set the example for climate leadership, with Scotland setting world-leading carbon mitigation targets during her tenure.
“These ambitious targets and her stewardship of COP26 in Glasgow were watershed moments in the global journey to Net Zero. Solar Energy Scotland welcomed Sturgeon’s support of solar energy, and we hope that her party will continue this support after her departure. We wish her all the best in her future endeavours.”
