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The Scottish Government strongly supports the development of the renewable energy sector and decarbonisation of our electrical generation and wider energy sector. In order to facilitate its development, the Scottish Government provides a range of support for the renewable energy sector, including funding to support renewable energy projects and technology development; a planning policy which strikes a careful balance between utilising Scotland's significant renewable energy resources whilst protecting our finest scenic landscapes, natural heritage and residential amenity; and a well-developed structure of partnership with the Scottish agencies, the private sector and academia, which has helped shape our renewable energy policies.Scottish Government makes available a range of impartial advice and financial support for communities, rural businesses, and non-profit distributing organisations across Scotland who wish to generate their own renewable energy and benefit from commercial operations. This information is available through the Scottish Government’s Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES). Further information is available on the Local Energy Scotland website at We also fund the Energy Saving Trust to provide energy advice and support to businesses and consumers. For example, working with partners including Resource Efficient Scotland, support for businesses is available to allow them to participate effectively in the supply chain for energy efficiency measures and installations and to help businesses attain accreditation with registered bodies to allow them to access funds available via Scottish and UK Government support schemes.The Energy Saving Trust’s network of local area advice centres across Scotland offers free, impartial advice relevant to consumers in their geographical areas. Specialist advisors can visit consumers at home, and provide advice on relevant renewable technologies which are available and appropriate and in most cases can provide details of several potential installers, with a focus on local businesses. Further information on support available from the Energy Saving Trust is available at

Figures published by the UK Government in April 2014 show that since 2010 the renewable energy industry has announced around £14.2 billion of investment in Scotland and this has supported many jobs in the supply chain and wider economy. Further information is available on the UK Government website at

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I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-01407 on 8 August 2016. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at

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