Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale
Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale was paid £15m last year to switch off its wind farms, because the wires south were full. That would cover every local household's electricity for 203 days. A further 913 MW of approved clean power (almost all onshore wind) is still waiting to be built here: enough to supply a year's electricity to 773,000 homes. A 500 MW battery approved at Redshaw Battery Energy Storage in 2025 would store power that is currently wasted; it has not been built. A 200 MW battery was refused planning here in 2026; while discharging it could have supplied about 701,000 homes.
The waiting list
Every approved, unbuilt project
| Site | Technology | Enough for | Capacity | Approved | Waiting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanquhar 2 Community Wind Farm | Wind Onshore | 269,000 homes | 308.0 MW | 2023-08 | 2.9 yrs |
| Cumberhead West Wind Farm | Wind Onshore | 110,000 homes | 126.0 MW | 2021-11 | 4.7 yrs |
| Douglas West Wind Farm (extension) | Wind Onshore | 68,000 homes | 78.0 MW | 2021-11 | 4.7 yrs |
| Kennoxhead Wind Farm | Wind Onshore | 54,000 homes | 62.0 MW | 2015-07 | 11.0 yrs |
| Whitelaw Brae Wind Farm | Wind Onshore | 50,000 homes | 57.0 MW | 2017-12 | 8.7 yrs |
| Priestgill Wind Farm | Wind Onshore | 40,000 homes | 46.2 MW | 2021-12 | 4.6 yrs |
| Kennoxhead Wind Farm Extension II (Penbreck) (Phase 2) | Wind Onshore | 40,000 homes | 45.6 MW | 2023-02 | 3.4 yrs |
| Kennoxhead Wind Farm Extension (Phase 2) | Wind Onshore | 34,000 homes | 38.4 MW | 2021-03 | 5.4 yrs |
| Jockstown Farm Solar Farm | Solar Photovoltaics | 14,000 homes | 37.9 MW | 2022-11 | 3.7 yrs |
| Twentyshilling Hill Wind Farm | Wind Onshore | 33,000 homes | 37.8 MW | 2019-12 | 6.6 yrs |
| Glenmuckloch Wind Farm | Wind Onshore | 29,000 homes | 33.6 MW | 2017-05 | 9.2 yrs |
| Kennoxhead Wind Farm (Phase 2) | Wind Onshore | 24,000 homes | 28.0 MW | 2022-06 | 4.1 yrs |
| Central Eco Park - Solar Farm | Solar Photovoltaics | 4,400 homes | 12.0 MW | 2023-02 | 3.5 yrs |
| Hazelside farm | Wind Onshore | 1,400 homes | 1.6 MW | 2014-12 | 11.6 yrs |
| Cochran Limited, Three Trees Road - Solar Panels | Solar Photovoltaics | 200 homes | 0.5 MW | 2023-12 | 2.7 yrs |
| Harbro, Birkhill Commercial Park - Solar Panels | Solar Photovoltaics | 100 homes | 0.4 MW | 2023-08 | 2.9 yrs |
| Samye Ling Centre - Solar Panels | Solar Photovoltaics | 100 homes | 0.3 MW | 2024-07 | 2.0 yrs |
| Birkhill Mill, Cairnhouses Road - Wind Turbines | Wind Onshore | — | — MW | 2023-05 | 3.2 yrs |
Plus 3 more approved within the last two years.
Batteries
| Site | Size | Status | While discharging |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coalburn II Energy Storage Facility - Battery Storage Facility | 1,000 MW | being built 2024 | could supply ≈3,504,000 homes |
| High Netherfauld House Farm 1, Tower Road - Battery Energy Storage System | 502 MW | in planning | could supply ≈1,761,000 homes |
| Redshaw Battery Energy Storage | 500 MW | approved, not built 2025 | could supply ≈1,752,000 homes |
| Gretna Green Battery Storage | 456 MW | approved, not built 2025 | could supply ≈1,598,000 homes |
| Lagrae Battery Energy Storage System | 400 MW | in planning | could supply ≈1,402,000 homes |
| Red Moss - Battery Storage | 342 MW | approved, not built 2025 | could supply ≈1,198,000 homes |
| Hagshaw Energy Cluster – Western Expansion | 225 MW | in planning | could supply ≈788,000 homes |
| Scoop Hill Wind Farm | 200 MW | refused 2026 | could supply ≈701,000 homes |
| Carlisle Road - Battery Energy Storage System | 200 MW | approved, not built 2025 | could supply ≈701,000 homes |
| Bodinglee Wind Farm | 106 MW | in planning | could supply ≈371,000 homes |
| Daer Wind Farm | 100 MW | in planning | could supply ≈350,000 homes |
| Harestanes Windfarm | 100 MW | being built 2019 | could supply ≈350,000 homes |
Wind farms paid to switch off
| Site | Paid, 12 months | Energy lost | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sandy Knowe Wind Farm | £2.6m | a year of 26,000 homes' electricity | high |
| Clyde Wind Farm | £2.4m | a year of 10,000 homes' electricity | medium |
| Kennoxhead Wind Farm | £1.6m | a year of 18,000 homes' electricity | high |
| Harestanes | £1.3m | a year of 6,200 homes' electricity | high |
| Twentyshilling Hill Wind Farm | £1.2m | a year of 17,000 homes' electricity | high |
| Cumberhead Wind Farm | £1.1m | a year of 18,000 homes' electricity | high |
| Douglas West and Dalquhandy Renewable Energy Project | £1.0m | a year of 14,000 homes' electricity | high |
| Clyde Wind Farm Extension (Clyde 2) | £950k | a year of 3,900 homes' electricity | medium |
| Middle Muir Wind Farm | £910k | a year of 5,900 homes' electricity | high |
| Ewe Hill (extension) | £760k | a year of 3,900 homes' electricity | high |
| Minnygap | £410k | a year of 2,100 homes' electricity | high |
| Whiteside Hill | £230k | a year of 1,000 homes' electricity | high |
| Minsca | £130k | a year of 500 homes' electricity | high |
| Dalswinton | £81k | a year of 300 homes' electricity | high |
| Andershaw | £68k | a year of 300 homes' electricity | high |
| Hagshaw Hill Wind Farm Extension | £42k | a year of 1,400 homes' electricity | high |
What this page does not show
The switch-off figure covers the big wind farms on the national grid only; smaller farms on the local grid are switched off invisibly, so it is a floor. Offshore wind is counted nationally, never per seat. The planning database can run a quarter behind reality.
Electricity does not travel from a particular project to particular houses. Everything generated goes into the national grid and everyone draws from that shared pool, so "enough for X homes" is a way of sizing the electricity — not a claim that these homes would be powered by this site. Battery storage is counted separately from generation: it moves power in time rather than making it.
Planning statuses come from the government's planning database (REPD), which records what was decided and when, but not why. Where a project was refused we say so and name the authority; for the reasons, look up the planning reference on that council's own register. How to check any figure on this page →
What has David Mundell said about the grid in Parliament? Search Hansard →