The Renewables Revolution

A Green Energy Boom, Leaving No One Behind

Scotland’s greenhouse gas emissions have been nearly halved since the 1990 baseline, and we continue to out-perform the UK as a whole in delivering long-term reductions.

Scotland is world renowned for having underpinned our net zero targets, and the SNP has enshrined in law its commitment to a Just Transition – ensuring no workers and communities are left behind.

And under the SNP, Scotland has been capitalising on its enormous potential to benefit from the green energy revolution, which is already creating significant opportunities, delivering jobs and attracting major investment across the country. Growing Scotland’s offshore wind sector is a key priority of the SNP government’s Green Industrial Strategy, which seeks to secure growth and investment.

Scotland has a potential pipeline of over 40 GW of offshore wind – enough to power the equivalent of around 45 million homes a year. Over half of this is floating wind, making it one of the largest markets in the world.

It presents enormous economic opportunities for our country, with the chance to create thousands of well-paid, green jobs, contribute to lower energy bills over time and accelerate our journey to net zero. 

The SNP Scottish Government has commitmented to invest up to £500 million over five years to develop the offshore wind supply chain and leverage an additional £1.5 billion of private investment. 

We must maximise the economic benefits from offshore wind deployment if we are to ensure a just transition that takes our existing skilled workforce and supply chain with us. The SNP is absolutely committed to this effort, which will create a highly productive and competitive economy and deliver a sustainable supply chain that will benefit all of Scotland for decades to come.

With the full powers of an independent country, Scotland could truly maximise the benefit – bringing down energy bills and becoming an important exporter of clean energy.