Good morning, everyone, and thank you for the opportunity to speak to the regulations.
At the end of 2017, I became aware of an inconsistency between the Electricity Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 and the environmental impact assessment directive. That inconsistency required that applications for a section 36 variation with no additional significant environmental impact undertake a full EIA assessment, which went well beyond the requirements of the EIA directive.
The amendments that I lodged to the 2017 regulations at the end of last year apply only to applications for variations with no additional significant environmental impacts or effects—for example, a change only in turbine capacity in respect of the number of megawatts that a turbine can generate. It is important that we stress that all other variations require an EIA process. The amendment is not so that developers can bypass the EIA process.
It was necessary to amend the 2017 regulations urgently in order to bring them into line with the EIA directive and to minimise the unnecessary regulatory burden on ministers, stakeholders and developers. The amendments will help to ensure that further delays to offshore wind farm developments are avoided, without compromising our commitment to safeguarding the environment.
Where potential environmental impacts could result from offshore wind farms, several measures are in place to ensure environmental protection, including a full EIA process, wide-ranging consultation and stringent planning conditions. For example, approximately 50 consultation bodies are consulted, and consultations range from 30 days to four months. Representations are also invited from members of the public.
Although the breach of the 28-day rule, which gives the committee time to consider the instrument, was not ideal—I regret having to do that—I felt that it was necessary in order to bring the 2017 EIA regulations into line with the EIA directive as soon as I was aware of the inconsistency in the legislation.
Now that we have identified the anomaly between the regulations and the EIA directive, and as part of our drive for continual improvements for efficiency and robustness, we will undertake a review of the regulations and the Marine Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 to ensure that they are consistent with each other, as they are both applied to the same sector.
I am happy to take questions.