Audit Scotland said it will examine the Scottish government’s ScotWind offshore wind leasing round, which generated more than £700 million in option fees following the 2022 seabed auction.
The public spending watchdog said it has begun “early scoping work” on the review and plans to publish its findings in October 2026 as part of a broader performance audit on renewable energy.
“We have recently started early scoping work on ScotWind and plan to report in Autumn 2026,” an Audit Scotland spokesperson said. “We intend to confirm our scope next month.
“Our planned work will include engaging with Crown Estate Scotland and the Scottish government.”
The probe follows criticism from opposition parties over how the proceeds from the leasing round have been used. The Scottish government has confirmed that ScotWind revenues have been allocated to support budgets over the next two years.
In October 2024, UK Energy Minister Michael Shanks said the SNP administration had “squandered” the auction proceeds and described ScotWind as a “missed opportunity”.
Crown Estate Scotland said it welcomed scrutiny of the projects and argued that ScotWind developments are expected to deliver significant economic benefits.
A spokesperson said the Scottish government had already received £755 million in option fees “which were for 10-year option agreements, not one-off sales,” and would receive annual multi-million-pound payments once projects become operational.
“In addition, the ambition of ScotWind offers Scotland the opportunity to become a world leader in fixed, floating and deepwater offshore wind and has underpinned the significant effort on supply chain investment within Scotland and across the UK in recent years,” the spokesperson said.
“The potential long-term economic and social benefit to Scotland, of an industry of this scale, is transformational.”
The seabed manager added that comparisons between ScotWind and offshore leasing models in other countries are “not comparing like with like” due to differences in seabed conditions and operational challenges that shaped the tender design.
A Scottish government spokesperson said: “ScotWind revenues give us the flexibility to invest in long-term benefits for Scotland and to help strengthen the limited financial levers we currently have under the Fiscal Framework from the UK government.
“We look forward to engaging with Audit Scotland once the full scope of their report is confirmed.”
