No.10 OF 650 · APPROVED, NOT BUILT MP: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party) Scotland

Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber

Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber was paid £1.7m last year to switch off its wind farms, because the wires south were full. That would cover every local household's electricity for 21 days. A further 384 MW of approved clean power (almost all onshore wind) is still waiting to be built here: enough to supply a year's electricity to 338,000 homes. A 56 MW battery approved at High Constellation Wind Farm in 2020 would store power that is currently wasted; it has not been built. A 50 MW battery was refused planning here in 2024; while discharging it could have supplied about 175,000 homes.

£1.7m

paid to wind farms here not to generate in the last year — enough to pay for every household here's electricity for 21 days.

Elexon balancing data, 12 months to 31 Jul 2026 · No.15 of 19 seats with visible switch-offs · how we worked this out

384 MW

of clean power — almost all onshore wind — approved and still not built, enough to supply a year's electricity to 338,000 homes — 8 times every household in this constituency. Approved at least two years ago; waiting on the grid, not on planning. That is 0.8× the renewable capacity actually running here.

17 projects · 374 MW onshore wind, 9.9 MW hydro, 0.2 MW solar · planning database (REPD), July 2026 · how we worked this out

£4.1m

is what the grid gap costs this constituency's 44,349 households in a year between them — £92 each, about 51 days of one home's electricity.

The £92 per household is a national figure — identical in every GB seat. Only the seat total varies, with the number of households · NESO · how we worked this out

The waiting list

6 of 17 waiting projects · years since approval

Beinn an Tuirc Windfarm Phase 3 50 MW

9.4 YRS

Eascairt Wind Farm 26 MW

7.9 YRS

Tangy 4 Wind Farm 80 MW

6.6 YRS

High Constellation Wind Farm 48 MW

6.1 YRS

Blarghour Wind Farm 84 MW

4.8 YRS

Rowan Wind Farm 86 MW

2.3 YRS

Every approved, unbuilt project

approved 24+ months ago, still not generating · planning database, July 2026

Site	Technology	Enough for	Capacity	Approved	Waiting
Rowan Wind Farm	Wind Onshore	75,000 homes	85.8 MW	2024-04	2.3 yrs
Blarghour Wind Farm	Wind Onshore	73,000 homes	84.0 MW	2021-10	4.8 yrs
Tangy 4 Wind Farm	Wind Onshore	70,000 homes	80.0 MW	2019-12	6.6 yrs
Beinn an Tuirc Windfarm Phase 3	Wind Onshore	44,000 homes	49.9 MW	2017-02	9.4 yrs
High Constellation Wind Farm	Wind Onshore	42,000 homes	48.0 MW	2020-06	6.1 yrs
Eascairt Wind Farm	Wind Onshore	23,000 homes	26.0 MW	2018-09	7.9 yrs
Glen Noe River	Small Hydro	2,300 homes	2.0 MW	2016-09	9.9 yrs
Allt Easach Hydro	Small Hydro	2,300 homes	2.0 MW	2019-03	7.4 yrs
Glen Etive Estate Phase I (Allt na Chaorainn)	Small Hydro	1,600 homes	1.4 MW	2018-08	7.9 yrs
Allt Charnan	Small Hydro	1,100 homes	1.0 MW	2019-03	7.4 yrs
Glen Etive Estate Phase II (Allt Mheuran)	Small Hydro	1,000 homes	0.9 MW	2019-03	7.4 yrs
Blackwater Dam	Small Hydro	900 homes	0.8 MW	2019-03	7.4 yrs
Allt Eilidh	Small Hydro	700 homes	0.6 MW	2019-08	7.0 yrs
Craig Farm	Small Hydro	500 homes	0.4 MW	2019-04	7.3 yrs
Garvie Burn	Small Hydro	500 homes	0.4 MW	2019-03	7.4 yrs
Duror 2 Hydro Scheme	Small Hydro	500 homes	0.4 MW	2019-03	7.4 yrs
Glenegedale Lotts, Turbine Lotts - Solar Pv Array	Solar Photovoltaics	100 homes	0.2 MW	2024-06	2.1 yrs

Plus 9 more approved within the last two years.

Batteries

projects of 10 MW and above · planning database, July 2026 · what batteries do →

Site	Size	Status	While discharging
Cnoc Buidhe Windfarm	109 MW	in planning	could supply ≈381,000 homes
High Constellation Wind Farm	56 MW	approved, not built 2020	could supply ≈194,000 homes
Ardencaple Farm - Battery Storage	50 MW	refused 2024	could supply ≈175,000 homes
SSE Taynuilt Substation - Battery Energy Storage	50 MW	approved, not built 2025	could supply ≈175,000 homes
Ladyfield Renewable Energy Park	41 MW	approved, not built 2025	could supply ≈145,000 homes
Sheirdrim Renewable Energy Development - Battery	38 MW	refused 2023	could supply ≈133,000 homes
Clachaig Glen	30 MW	approved, not built 2024	could supply ≈105,000 homes
Earraghail Renewable Energy Development	25 MW	refused 2025	could supply ≈88,000 homes
Corr Chnoc Wind Farm	25 MW	in planning	could supply ≈88,000 homes
Giants Burn Wind Farm -Batter Energy Storage	23 MW	in planning	could supply ≈81,000 homes
West Torrisdale Wind Farm	20 MW	in planning	could supply ≈70,000 homes
Cruach Clenamacrie Wind Farm	20 MW	in planning	could supply ≈70,000 homes

Wind farms paid to switch off

12 months to 31 Jul 2026 · mapping confidence shown · mapping file

Site	Paid, 12 months	Energy lost	Confidence
Carraig Gheal	£1.7m	a year of 8,600 homes' electricity	high
Cour Wind Farm	£4k	a year of 0 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 →

Read the full method, including everything we cannot see →

What has Brendan O'Hara said about the grid in Parliament? Search Hansard →

See the full league table Data (JSON)