Superb article in the Scotsman today from Katharine Hay detailing the outcome, so far, of our petition hearing at the Scottish Parliament yesterday. We hope the Scotsman don’t give us a hard time for publishing part of the article, considering we gave them the story!
Scotland’s energy secretary will be quizzed on a petition calling for more power to be given to communities when it comes to energy infrastructure planning.
MSPs unanimously voted for Gillian Martin to respond to concerns raised in the document and called for the petition to be debated in the Scottish Parliament.
It comes as energy bosses warn Scotland needs to double its onshore wind capacity in the next five years to meet government targets, with mounting pressure to upgrade the country’s creaking grid network.
The petition, lodged by campaign group Scotland Against Spin, urges residents impacted by the surge in new energy-related infrastructure in rural areas are given “sufficient, professional help to engage in the planning process” and that an independent advocate is available “to ensure local participants are not bullied and intimidated during public inquiries”.
At a committee meeting on Wednesday, convenor Jackson Carlaw said the petition had drawn “considerable interest” from MSPs queuing up to show their support.
The petition, which was first lodged in 2021, called for this threshold to be increased to allow more local influence on the decision-making process. The threshold in England is 100MW, with campaigners saying the average capacity of wind farms south of the Border is much less than the average of 120MW in Scotland.
He said evidence from MSPs and people throughout Scotland showed “communities feel swamped and overwhelmed” and that community councils, although statutory consultees, are “ignored and their voices not heard”.
Mr Ewing said Scotland lacked in energy policy, adding: “The question how much wind energy is enough and how much is too much scarcely ever seems to be asked, so we need the energy minister to come here and answer questions.”
The petition has been backed by Scottish Conservative MSPs, including Tim Eagle, Rachael Hamilton, Douglas Lumsden, Tess White, Finlay Carson and Russel Finlay, as well as SNP MSP Emma Harper. https://www.scotsman.com/hays-way/snp-energy-minister-to-be-quizzed-over-push-for-scotland-to-match-england-on-100-megawatt-energy-threshold-5311219?fbclid=IwY2xjawMvZJZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHqRhNdwWJ1K85w3OeI_sCxvpxNvztz1u8K0wgpj0kMABWHPaOL7q8N__4RG8_aem_k87snegS6ELgMmy5F5bcxw
1 Comment
Gavin Stark · November 14, 2025 at 4:34 pm
We don’t want more wind turbines or pylons in the highlands, they should go underground. If they are needed , which I doubt they are !!