Current status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 27 October 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how it will give community energy projects priority access to sites on public land due for repowering, through measures such as updated guidance and enhancements to the Community Asset Transfer Scheme (CATS).
The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that the transition to net zero delivers real and lasting benefits for communities, not just in terms of infrastructure, but in jobs, investment, and local opportunity. We know Scotland’s energy transition is not just about infrastructure, it’s about people. That is why we are taking action to give communities priority access to renewable energy assets on public land that are due for repowering.
This includes enhancements to the Community Asset Transfer Scheme (CATS), which will now ensure communities receive early notification of in scope public land sites due for repowering and a dedicated 12-month window to apply before a commercial strategy is pursued.
We’re moving beyond the idea of communities as passive hosts of energy infrastructure. Our approach supports communities to become active partners, investing in, owning, and benefiting from the clean energy future.
Ten Forestry and Land Scotland onshore wind sites under 50 megawatts have been identified to pilot this approach. We are also working with public bodies to ensure communities have access to clear guidance through Local Energy Scotland and Forestry and Land Scotland. Updated information on the enhanced CATS will be available online from both organisations today. In addition, communities hoping to utilise the enhanced CATS will benefit from advice available through our Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES). This will ensure that communities are supported to play an active role in shaping their energy future, not just hosting developments, but helping to lead them.