Beyond COP26- Accelerating the pace of decarbonising Scottish homes and buildings

Scottish Renewables (“SR”), the industry body representing 265 organisations which provide the equivalent of 97.4% of the electricity consumed in Scotland, has launched a new publication setting out five key recommendations the Scottish Government should action to accelerate the pace of the transition to a net-zero society and advance Scotland’s position as a world leader in low-carbon energy.  

The recommendations include:

• Reforms Scotland’s planning process to deliver at least 12GW of additional onshore wind and 11GW of offshore wind by 2030
• Accelerates the pace of decarbonising Scottish homes and buildings, through heating 45% of homes and 25% of our commercial, industrial and public buildings from renewable sources by 2030
• Brings the benefits of Scotland’s clean energy revolution to our public and commercial buildings by installing 1GW of solar PV capacity by 2030
• Continues to develop our world-leading wave and tidal energy industries by creating a support mechanism to work alongside the UK Government’s revenue stabilisation mechanism
• Establishes an energy skills and services export target for Scotland to support the just transition of workers through planned global industry growth.

For the housing sector, heat usage makes up a significant percentage of Scotland’s energy use and only 6.4% of that heat comes from renewable sources. The SR argues that the Scottish Government can deliver a clean energy revolution by accelerating the district heat networks across cities and towns, and targeted support for island and rural communities through a Rural Heat Decarbonisation Fund. 

The Heat Networks (Scotland) Act 2021, which provides the regulating framework for the construction and operation of heat networks across Scotland, can significantly contribute to the achievement of this target. However, much of 2021 is intended to be brought into force by regulations over the next couple of years. The 2 years period may threaten SR’s recommendation with economic agents having to quickly adapt to the new legislative environment- watch this space.