Scotland

Scotland has its own planning system. A power station over 50 MW needs consent from Scottish Ministers. The law is section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. A government team, the Energy Consents Unit, runs the process. Anything smaller goes to the local council.

Community engagement is built in. A power station of 20 MW or more counts as major development. That means talking to the community before you apply. The first step is a notice to the council, which councils say must go in at least 12 weeks before the application. Build that time into your plan.

Rooftops follow a different path. Circular 2/2024 from the Scottish Government covers panels on non-domestic buildings. They are permitted development if no part sticks out more than 1 metre. Exclusions include listed buildings and road-facing walls in conservation areas. Free-standing panels in the grounds of a non-domestic building are capped at 12 square metres. So a barn-roof array can often go ahead without an application. A ground array of any real size needs one.

Yield falls towards the north. PVGIS models about 938 kWh a year per kilowatt-peak at Dundee, 904 at Edinburgh, 887 at Aberdeen and 811 at Inverness. Exeter gets 1,052. A Highland scheme needs lower costs or more self-use to match a southern site.

Two firms run the network. SSEN covers the north and publishes maps of spare capacity for new generation. SP Energy Networks covers central and southern Scotland. Each has its own application process.