Scotland's draft energy strategy eyes 20 GW of fresh wind by 2030

The Scottish government has published a Draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan including an ambition to deliver at least 20 GW of additional renewable power capacity by 2030.

This would be on top of the 13.4 GW of renewables capacity Scotland has already.

“Scotland’s rich renewables resources means we can not only generate enough cheap, green electricity to power Scotland’s economy, but we can also generate a surplus, and open up new economic opportunities for export,” says a statement by Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport Michael Matheson in the Scottish Parliament.

Across the renewable energy sector, the government’s plans include a maintained target of 8 GW-11 GW of offshore wind by 2030, up from 1.9 GW as of June 2022. The consultation is seeking views on whether this ambition should be increased and what its level should be by 2030 and 2045.

The draft strategy restates the ambition outlined in the Onshore Wind Policy Statement at the end of December 2022 for 12 GW of new onshore wind by 2030, expanding the onshore wind capacity from 8.78 GW as of June 2022 to 20 GW by 2030.

The government is also consulting on targets for solar and for tidal and wave energy. Scotland at the moment has 411 MW of solar capacity.

Ambitions on hydrogen are kept unchanged, namely 5 GW of installed renewable and low-carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030 and 25 GW by 2045.

Scotland also calls for action from the UK government to help pumped-hydro storage realise its potential.

The draft document can be viewed on the government’s website here.

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