Question reference: S6W-15921
- Date lodged: 14 March 2023
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Current status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 22 March 2023
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made in working with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to agree an increased noise budget for projects within the 50km safeguarding zone at Eskdalemuir, and when it expects that any announcement will be made on the agreed way forward.
Answer
Safeguarding the Eskdalemuir Seismic Array is the responsibility of the Ministry of Defence and any decision to amend the seismic noise budget for the array is a decision for the UK Government.
The Scottish Government and Ministry of Defence have been working constructively together and the Scottish Government has conducted a series of technical studies over the course of 2020 to 2022 in order to provide updated wind turbine data that can be used in the noise budget allocation calculation.
The results of these studies are publicly available and are hosted on the Scottish Renewables’ website. The Scottish Government shared these studies with the MoD and we understand the MoD is in the process of reviewing their noise budget management. The Scottish Government continues to engage with the MoD as they develop their approach.