Holyrood Energy Summit 2026

This event is now fully booked. If you would like to be added onto the waiting list, please email the Events Team at eventsadmin@holyrood.com

How can Scotland build a balanced energy system? Was Scotland too ambitious with offshore wind? Are we achieving a Just Transition? What is the future of the North Sea?

With the 2026 election on the horizon, energy policy is fast becoming one of the defining issues of the national conversation. Questions of ownership, security, investment, and fairness are front and centre – the decisions made now will help shape manifestos, budgets, and infrastructure for the next decade.

Join us, for free*, at Holyrood’s inaugural Energy Summit where we kickstart the year by bringing together public sector leaders, community stakeholders, and elected representatives for a half-day of discussion, policy challenge, and practical insight. This is a vital opportunity for direct engagement with the leaders shaping the future of Scotland’s energy.

Across the day, we will: 

  • Discuss what a balanced, secure, and fair energy system for Scotland should look like
  • Explore how energy investment can deliver jobs, skills, and economic growth across communities
  • Examine Scotland’s strategic role in the UK energy system, including grid, governance, and security
  • Hear directly from senior leaders on what energy policy could look like beyond 2026
  • Host a live debate on the benefits and challenges of nuclear energy

Whether you work in local government, energy policy, regulation, or community leadership – this is a vital opportunity to engage directly with the people and priorities shaping Scotland’s next energy chapter.

*This event is free to attend subject to Holyrood approval.

Event Details

Energy options are abundant in Scotland, from wind and hydrogen to solar and carbon capture storage and beyond, but Scotland needs to get the mix right. To kickstart the conference, this discussion will take the temperature of the issue as a whole.

This panel will explore topics including:

• The importance of securing a variety of energy sources and how this can be done
• What would happen if this mix were not balanced correctly?
• Balance between private and public investment
• Scotland’s involvement in construction and national security concerns
• The role of oil and gas in Scotland

Offshore wind is expanding but hitting roadblocks. Wind farms are being told not to generate wind due to grid restrictions, shares are plummeting, and construction is being outsourced rather than localised. This begs the question, was Scotland too ambitious?

Join this panel to hear our speakers discuss topics including:

• The existing challenges and limitations of Scotland’s offshore wind
• Who should own Scotland’s wind? Who owns it now?
• Does Scotland see enough industrial return and jobs from hosting wind farms?
• What’s next?

Robert Gordon University’s June 2025 report warned that the UK risks losing tens of thousands of offshore energy jobs by 2030 unless urgent and coordinated action is taken immediately.

In this panel, speakers will explore questions including:

• Are enough jobs being created in the energy sector?
• What is the role of oil and gas now?
• Do we need more transferable skills in the workforce?
• How does training need to adapt to handle the increase in renewable energies and decrease in oil and gas?

This new style of session will bring together speakers to debate a key question, Should the Scottish Government be Open to Nuclear Energy?

Here’s an opportunity to have your say. Vote at the beginning, hear the discussion, and see if your opinion changes.

Scottish ports are vital to the country’s energy transition, providing the infrastructure, logistics, and strategic planning needed to deliver offshore wind, hydrogen, and other energy projects.

This session will explore:
• How ports are preparing for future energy demands
• Where investment and infrastructure development are most needed
• How Scotland can ensure that its ports remain competitive and attractive for major energy projects

The North Sea has been a key energy generator for Scotland for many years, but is it the time to withdraw old energy sources to make space for new ones?

Join this debate to hear our panellists’ thoughts on topics including:

• What a post-oil and gas North Sea looks like
• Transition implications for communities and offshore workforces
• The North Sea Consultation: What impact will it have on Scotland’s energy?

A key question when discussing renewables is whether the energy grid can support Scotland’s energy ambitions.

Hear our panellists discuss topics including:

• Grid interconnectivity, capacity, and network modernisation
• Who controls and who benefits?
• Devolution and ownership
• Demand flexibility service and its role in managing the grid
• The role and impact of GB Energy

Prof. Gareth Harrison
Bert Whittington Chair of Electrical Power Engieering
University of Edinburgh
Bronagh Finnegan
Corporate Affairs Director
Warmworks
Michael Behr
Renewables Reporter
Energy Voice
Bob Sanguinetti DL
Chief Executive Officer
Port of Aberdeen
David Whitehouse
Chief Executive Officer
Offshore Energies UK (OEUK)
Erikka Askeland
News Editor
Energy Voice
Prof. James Carroll
Professor of Wind Energy Engineering and Director of the WAMSS Centre for Doctoral Training
University of Strathclyde
Melanie McRae
Deputy Director Clean Power 2030 Unit - Policy and Delivery
UK Government
Kersti Berge
Director of Energy and Climate Change
Scottish Government
Donna Sutherland
Vice President
Scottish Energy Forum
Aled Rowlands
Head of Engagement - Strategic Energy
National Energy Systems Operator (NESO)
Kirstie Langan
Global Business Development Director
Project Development International (PDi)
Adam Morrison
UK Country Manager
Ocean Winds
Tom Findlay
Energy Ports Development Manager
Crown Estate Scotland
Stuart Wallace
Chief Executive Officer
Forth Ports Limited
Louise Gilmour
GMB Scotland Secretary
GMB Scotland
Tess White MSP
Shadow Minister for Equalities
Scottish Conservatives
Douglas Lumsden MSP
Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy, and Transport
Scottish Conservatives
Michael Shanks MP
Minister for Energy, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
UK Government
Professor Paul de Leeuw
Director of the Energy Transition Institute
Robert Gordon University
Jeremy Grant
Freelance Journalist
Prof. John Underhill
University Director for Energy Transition
University of Aberdeen
Andrew Bowie MP
Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland | Shadow Minister of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
Scottish Conservatives
Paul McLennan MSP
MSP for East Lothian
Scottish National Party
Maurice Golden
Maurice Golden MSP
MSP for North East Scotland
Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Richard Hardy
Member | National Secretary (Scotland)
Just Transition Commission | Prospect Union
Gillian Martin MSP
Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy
Scottish Government

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