Following a first round of consultation in 2025, the Scottish Government has now released a second Working Paper on Refreshing the Good Practice Principles for Community Benefits from Onshore Renewable Energy – open for consultation until the 25th March 2026.
Here’s a summary of what you need to know:
The Working Paper is seeking views on the following:
- The technologies in scope of the Good Practice Principles (GPPs), and the approach to co-located developments;
- The community benefits fund levels recommended by the Good Practice Principles;
- Principles and Guidance for the governance and distribution of community benefit funds; and
- Measures to support communities and build their capacity to engage with and fully benefit from community benefit funds.
The Working Paper summarises the responses received during the first consultation period and sets out proposals to strengthen the Good Practice Principles. As the GPPs are currently based on the commercial viability and maturity of onshore wind developments, the proposals seek to apply guidance for a range of different technologies that are relative to their current market viability.
The Working Paper proposes the following Fund Levels that would be set out in £ per MW of capacity:
- Onshore wind: £6,000 per MW per year (uprated from £5,000 per MW per year);
- Solar Developments: £700 – £1,000 per MW per year; and
- Battery storage: at least £150 per MW per year.
These Fund Level recommendations take into account market challenges and reflect the importance of acknowledging differing revenue models. Electricity transmission infrastructure is not included within the scope and there will be broader community benefits guidance for emerging technologies that are not yet at the same commercial level as wind, solar and battery.
Specific guidelines have also been proposed for the governance of distribution of community benefits to allow for detailed templates and resources for a more consistent practice. It was noted from the previous consultation that the guidance, as it stands, is too high level and requires more detail.
Lastly, the Working Paper proposes structured measures to support communities throughout the process to ensure that they benefit fully from community benefits on offer.
It is important to note that the Scottish Government cannot require developers to provide community benefits, as the powers to do so are reserved to the UK Government.
