The SSEP is intended to provide a long-term strategic framework identifying where generation, storage and associated electricity infrastructure should be located across Great Britain out to 2050. The Plan is intended to support delivery of the Government's clean power ambitions whilst reducing costs and accelerating network development.
The SSEP is currently moving through a pathway selection stage. NESO has developed six potential pathways and submitted them to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, as well as the Scottish and Welsh Governments for consideration. A public consultation is expected in early 2027 before the final plan is adopted. Developers, investors and supply chain businesses are paying close attention to the pathways being considered by NESO, as the eventual pathway selected will help determine where transmission investment is directed, where generation is prioritised and where future infrastructure is most likely to be developed.
The final SSEP is currently expected to be published in Autumn 2027. Onshore wind developers in Scotland have expressed their concerns around the timing, questioning whether sufficient interim guidance could be provided in the meantime, given that major land, planning and investment decisions are being made now.
NESO has also come under a lot of criticism recently following their submission of the Pathways Options Report to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. Scottish energy trade bodies, unions, ports and business groups have written to the Energy Secretary warning that NESO’s forthcoming Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP) could sideline Scotland’s floating offshore wind sector and put major ScotWind projects at risk. They warn projects could be delayed or scaled back, undermining investor confidence and making further investment in Scottish ports, manufacturing and supply chains harder to justify.
