Scotland's offshore wind leases undervalue seabed resources, argues policy analyst

Summary

This opinion piece argues that Scotland is vastly undercharging for offshore wind energy leases, with a contracted rental rate of just £1.07 per megawatt hour. The author contends that at full consented capacity (29.3 GW), this generates only about £110 million per year — a fraction of what the seabed resources are worth. The article calls for a fundamental rethink of how Scotland values and prices its seabed assets, arguing that the current system shortchanges the public and fails to capture the true value of Scotland's renewable energy potential.