EDINBURGH, Scotland, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- Scotland needs to streamline planning processes in the renewable energy sector so other countries don't threaten its leadership position, a minister said.
Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond said he was looking to make planning for offshore wind and other forms of renewable energy more efficient.
"Scotland now has a world lead in offshore wind and we want to make sure the planning process doesn't allow other countries to catch us and make sure that the tens of thousands of jobs which are going to come to Scotland from this industry are not unnecessarily delayed by the planning process," he was quoted by the BBC as saying.
Scotland has laid out the ambitious target of eventually relying on renewable energy to meet all of its domestic demand.
Scottish Renewables Director Jenny Hogan said Salmond's ambitions were what are needed for a greener economy.
"With more than 11 gigawatts of offshore wind, wave and tidal energy projects in the pipeline by 2020, a streamlined and efficient process for securing planning consent is crucial to making these plans a reality," she was quoted as saying.
