Decisions on renewable energy developments should be speeded up, according to Energy Minister Jim Mather.

Working with the industry, the Scottish Government is looking at setting a target of nine months for new energy applications to be determined, where there is no public inquiry.

Speaking at the Green Energy Awards, Energy Minister Jim Mather said: "Our commitment to renewable energy and sustainable economic growth is beyond question. We substantially increased Scotland's renewable electricity target to provide 50 per cent of Scottish energy demand from renewables by 2020, with an interim milestone of 31 per cent by 2011.

"These targets send a clear signal about the scale of our renewables ambitions. The message is we need more renewables but not at any price - the best applications are those that take care to resolve environmental and planning concerns in advance.

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"Ministers are dealing with applications without unnecessary delay but we must continue to look for improvements in our consents procedures. Working with the industry, our aim is to make decisions more quickly by improving the quality of applications, introducing more certainty about turnaround times and ensuring that more robust procedures are implemented. I believe we can work to an objective of having applications being determined within nine months where there is no public inquiry."

Applications are subject to comment by planning authorities, who have up to four months to comment, environmental bodies and other bodies such as aviation authorities who will be affected by a development.

The application is advertised in the local area and public representations are fully taken into account.

The current average time for determining applications is two years. By introducing a target time of nine months - where there is no public local inquiry - Ministers are keen to ensure that the various consultation processes are completed as quickly as is possible while ensuring that all parties have the opportunity to make representations.

A number of other innovations are being introduced to improve the quality of applications, including new scoping guidance which will give applicants a clear steer on the issues they have to tackle in their application before it is submitted.

(SP)