Members' Business — S6M-06111 Alasdair Allan: Western Isles Interconnector

That the Parliament welcomes the recent National Grid Electricity System Operator report, Pathway to 2030 Holistic Network Design, and the inclusion of a new 1.8GW interconnector to connect the Western Isles, which has been assessed as "required" to deliver 2030 offshore wind targets; understands that this new link is expected to have sufficient capacity to accommodate all known onshore wind contracted to connect in the Western Isles as well as the two ScotWind sites in closest proximity to the islands; welcomes the transformational economic impacts that investment in renewables and grid infrastructure will reportedly have on the Western Isles and Scottish economies; recognises what it sees as the significant contribution this investment will make towards net zero targets and securing Scotland's future energy independence and energy security; notes with concern that the new link was not included in the energy regulator, Ofgem’s, recent consultation on accelerating onshore electricity transmission investment, and notes calls for Ofgem to ensure this new link is included in its final list of projects approved for accelerated investment, which is due to be published before the end of 2022.