SECTION 8: DELIVERY, MONITORING AND REPORTING
This section will set out:
- The role of Scottish Government
- Delivery of the Action Plan
- Linking with Climate Change Agenda
- Reporting Mechanisms
Role of Scottish Government
8.1 The role of Scottish Government in delivering a low carbon energy revolution can be defined as follows:
Leadership
- Focus on driving progress and identifying and overcoming obstacles to energy generation, business success, jobs growth, and carbon reductions.
Coordination
- Coordinate and facilitate the highest degree of partnership working between the public and private sectors and reinforce the role of the Energy Advisory Board and its Renewable Energy sub-group ( FREDS), as the "centre of gravity" for renewables in Scotland.
Communication
- Engage closely with the UK Government and the EU to ensure Scotland's needs and contribution are reflected in their policies.
Delivery of the Action Plan
8.2 A steering group, co-chaired by an industry representative and the Scottish Government, will oversee and coordinate delivery of the Action Plan. The group will meet twice a year to review progress. The full membership details of the Steering Group can be found at Annex D.
8.3 As well as promoting the delivery of the actions, the Group will continually review the market to determine further steps required to make progress against climate change and renewable energy targets, setting new actions where appropriate.
8.4 The Group will work strategically with the overarching FREDS group and the Energy Advisory Board to assist in meeting Scotland's overall renewable energy targets while delivering sustainable growth.
Monitoring
8.5 The Action Plan will focus on actions to stimulate the market over the next 2 years. Over this initial period, the Group will meet at least twice a year to review progress. After 2 years, the structure and membership of the Group will be reviewed.
8.6 The Steering group will establish various sub-groups to take forward the delivery of various Workstreams which will be developed from the Action Plan.
Reporting
8.7 As previously mentioned the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 includes a provision on renewable heat. That provision mandates Scottish Minsters to produce a plan for the use of heat from renewable sources. The plan must, in particular:
- Set targets for the percentage of heat to be produced from renewables sources.
- Set a date by which the targets should be met.
- Describe how those targets will be reported on.
8.8 In the short term, the database provided by the SDC will be the mechanism for annual reporting of progress towards targets. In the longer term the introduction of the RHI should provide the mechanism for this.
8.9 The actions as outlined in Section 6 are not static and will be reviewed on a regular basis to keep them current and react to industry. This is to meet the provision under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 which states:
- Scottish Ministers must review the plan at least every 2 years. If changes are made, a revised plan must be published as soon as practicable thereafter.
- In addition, Scottish Ministers must make a statement to the parliament on the changes made.