Current status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 9 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made towards delivering its commitment made in the 2023 Scottish Onshore Wind Sector Deal to determine Section 36 applications for onshore wind projects in 12 months where there is no Public Local Inquiry and 24 months where there is one.
The Onshore Wind Sector Deal includes the commitment that from 2025, we will aim to determine Section 36 applications for new sites, and for the re-powering of existing operational sites, within 12 months where there is no public inquiry, or 24 months if there is a public inquiry.
This year, in most circumstances, it has not been possible to determine applications made prior to 2025 within these timeframes. This is due to legacy issues within the applications themselves, which must be resolved to ensure that we can achieve positive outcomes in the public interest, for all relevant stakeholders.
Accordingly, it is too early to assess whether the sector deal actions have achieved the intended impact on determination timescales. We remain committed to meeting these timeframes for applications submitted from 2025 onwards.
The Energy Consents Unit has committed to publishing an Annual Report in 2026, which will set out the progress made against this commitment in more detail.