National Policies: Scotland
Since devolution in 1999, the Scottish Executive has been able to implement policies in many areas that were previously controlled by the UK Government. Some energy policy issues such as electricity, gas, coal and nuclear power are still reserved by the UK Government but others, such as energy efficiency and renewable energy (including planning consent for plants covered under the Electricity Act 1989), are devolved to Scotland.
The Scottish Climate Change Programme commits Scotland to generating 18 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2010. However, the Scottish Executive has recently agreed that Scotland should aim for 40 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020. They have announced a series of measures to help reach this target.
One of the main measures to increase Scotland’s renewable energy output is the Renewables Obligation Scotland (ROS) Order 2002. The ROS places a legal obligation on every licensed electricity supplier in Scotland to supply a percentage of electricity from renewable sources. It works in tandem with the Renewables Obligation in England and Wales.