The Scottish Government’s Plan for Offshore Wind in Scottish Waters, published today, is key to delivering renewables in the right places, say RSPB Scotland. The plan considers the potential of Scotland’s offshore environment to accommodate wind energy developments from a national perspective, making proposals for the short and medium term development of offshore wind energy.
RSPB Scotland has welcomed the plan’s strategic approach to develop offshore wind energy in Scottish Waters. This is necessary if we are to see the huge expansion required in renewables that is needed in order to meet our objectives of decarbonising the electricity sector and mitigating the worst impacts of climate change, whilst also ensuring that Scotland’s marine environment is protected for future generations.
Aedán Smith, Head of Planning and Development at RSPB Scotland , said: “The plan for offshore wind energy is key to ensuring that the necessary growth in offshore renewables is delivered without having an impact on Scotland’s sensitive marine environment. As well as having massive renewable energy resources, Scotland’s seas are also home to half of Scotland’s biodiversity, and 45% of the EU’s breeding seabirds, in addition to a huge variety of other species, from basking sharks to rare coldwater corals. For this reason it is crucial that our marine environment is managed sustainably, to allow us to reap the benefit of a healthy, productive and diverse sea.”
Responding to a recent Scottish Government consultation, on ‘Securing the benefits of Scotland’s next energy revolution’, RSPB Scotland reiterated the need for sustainable development of renewables and called on government to ensure that the financial dividends from the expansion of the renewables sector are used to deliver benefits for Scotland’s natural environment too.
RSPB Scotland will be working closely with government, the Crown Estate and developers to ensure that offshore wind energy developments are delivered in the most sustainable manner. RSPB Scotland will consider all individual planning applications for offshore wind developments objectively on their own merits and the final response will depend on the findings of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and the predicted impact of the development on bird populations.
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Source: rspb, March 18, 2011