Current status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 17 February 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what the maximum planning fee applicable is for onshore renewable energy project applications, broken down by capacity of (a) under 50MW and (b) 50MW and over.
Onshore renewable energy projects under 50MW are determined under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 and are handled by the relevant planning authority. Fees are set by the Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications) (Scotland) Regulations and vary depending on the size of the application. The maximum fee for a generating station application is £178,560.
For projects 50MW and over, consent is required from Scottish Ministers under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. Fees are prescribed by the TheElectricity (Applications for Consent and Variation of Consent) (Fees) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2022 and vary depending on the MW capacity of the application. There is no maximum fee.