Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock
Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock was paid £18m last year to switch off its wind farms, because the wires south were full. That would cover every local household's electricity for 233 days. A further 654 MW of approved clean power (almost all onshore wind) is still waiting to be built here: enough to supply a year's electricity to 571,000 homes. A 500 MW battery approved at Braston New Energy in 2025 would store power that is currently wasted; it has not been built. A 25 MW battery was refused planning here in 2023; while discharging it could have supplied about 88,000 homes.
The waiting list
Every approved, unbuilt project
| Site | Technology | Enough for | Capacity | Approved | Waiting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Kyle Energy Project | Wind Onshore | 180,000 homes | 205.8 MW | 2021-06 | 5.1 yrs |
| Lethans Wind Farm | Wind Onshore | 92,000 homes | 105.6 MW | 2021-06 | 5.1 yrs |
| Pencloe Wind Farm | Wind Onshore | 71,000 homes | 81.0 MW | 2018-12 | 7.7 yrs |
| Chirmorie Wind Farm | Wind Onshore | 70,000 homes | 80.0 MW | 2018-03 | 8.4 yrs |
| Arecleoch Wind Farm (extension) | Wind Onshore | 64,000 homes | 72.8 MW | 2021-11 | 4.7 yrs |
| Greenburn Wind Park | Wind Onshore | 59,000 homes | 67.2 MW | 2023-04 | 3.3 yrs |
| Over Hill Wind Farm | Wind Onshore | 31,000 homes | 36.0 MW | 2023-07 | 3.1 yrs |
| Knockshinnoch Wind Farm | Wind Onshore | 3,500 homes | 4.0 MW | 2017-05 | 9.2 yrs |
| Craig Tara Holiday Park, Dunure Road - Solar Panels | Solar Photovoltaics | 300 homes | 0.7 MW | 2023-07 | 3.1 yrs |
| Loch Doon Dam Compensation Set | Small Hydro | 300 homes | 0.3 MW | 2019-05 | 7.2 yrs |
| Ladywell Avenue - Solar Panels | Solar Photovoltaics | 100 homes | 0.2 MW | 2023-02 | 3.5 yrs |
Plus 8 more approved within the last two years.
Batteries
| Site | Size | Status | While discharging |
|---|---|---|---|
| Braston New Energy | 500 MW | approved, not built 2025 | could supply ≈1,752,000 homes |
| Kilgallioch - Battery energy storage | 100 MW | approved, not built 2024 | could supply ≈350,000 homes |
| South Kyle Wind Farm 2 | 50 MW | in planning | could supply ≈175,000 homes |
| Coylton Substation, Coylton - Battery Energy Storage | 50 MW | being built 2024 | could supply ≈175,000 homes |
| Dersalloch Battery Storage Facility | 50 MW | approved, not built 2021 | could supply ≈175,000 homes |
| Killoch Depot, Killoch Colliery - Battery Storage | 50 MW | approved, not built 2023 | could supply ≈175,000 homes |
| Loch Fergus Farm - Energy Storage System | 45 MW | being built 2024 | could supply ≈158,000 homes |
| Sclenteuch Wind Farm | 45 MW | approved, not built 2025 | could supply ≈158,000 homes |
| Breezy Hill, North Kyle Forest Estate - BESS | 40 MW | in planning | could supply ≈140,000 homes |
| Electricity Substation, Bardarroch - Battery Energy Storage | 30 MW | approved, not built 2025 | could supply ≈105,000 homes |
| Clauchrie Windfarm Battery | 25 MW | refused 2023 | could supply ≈88,000 homes |
| Carrick Windfarm | 20 MW | refused 2025 | could supply ≈70,000 homes |
Wind farms paid to switch off
| Site | Paid, 12 months | Energy lost | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Kyle Wind Farm | £7.5m | a year of 85,000 homes' electricity | high |
| Dersalloch | £3.0m | a year of 16,000 homes' electricity | high |
| North Kyle Energy Project | £2.4m | a year of 39,000 homes' electricity | high |
| Arecleoch Windfarm | £1.5m | a year of 7,000 homes' electricity | high |
| Dalquhandy Windfarm | £1.1m | a year of 6,800 homes' electricity | high |
| Mark Hill | £740k | a year of 3,500 homes' electricity | high |
| Hare Hill Extension | £730k | a year of 3,800 homes' electricity | high |
| Afton Wind Farm | £470k | a year of 2,300 homes' electricity | high |
| Hadyard Hill | £150k | a year of 700 homes' electricity | high |
| Assel Valley Wind Farm | £100k | a year of 500 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 Elaine Stewart said about the grid in Parliament? Search Hansard →