Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk
Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk was paid £7.0m last year to switch off its wind farms, because the wires south were full. That would cover every local household's electricity for 85 days. A further 85 MW of approved clean power (mostly onshore wind) is still waiting to be built here: enough to supply a year's electricity to 64,000 homes. A 50 MW battery approved at Keepers House, Byrecleugh in 2025 would store power that is currently wasted; it has not been built.
The waiting list
Every approved, unbuilt project
| Site | Technology | Enough for | Capacity | Approved | Waiting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crystal Rig Wind Farm Phase IV | Wind Onshore | 42,000 homes | 48.0 MW | 2021-03 | 5.4 yrs |
| Blackburn Mill Farm, Grantshouse - Wind Turbines | Wind Onshore | 15,000 homes | 16.8 MW | 2024-04 | 2.3 yrs |
| Howpark Solar Farm | Solar Photovoltaics | 5,400 homes | 15.0 MW | 2024-07 | 2.0 yrs |
| Eyemouth Freezers, Toll Bridge Road - Solar Panels | Solar Photovoltaics | 400 homes | 1.2 MW | 2024-04 | 2.3 yrs |
| Water Treatment Works, Howden Wells - Solar Photovoltaic System | Solar Photovoltaics | 400 homes | 1.1 MW | 2023-09 | 2.8 yrs |
| Drysdale Vegetable Growers, Old Cambus - Solar PV Panels | Solar Photovoltaics | 300 homes | 0.8 MW | 2022-09 | 3.9 yrs |
| Plexus Lee, Forbes Way - Solar Panels | Solar Photovoltaics | 200 homes | 0.5 MW | 2022-08 | 3.9 yrs |
| Burnfoot Industrial Estate - Solar Panels | Solar Photovoltaics | 200 homes | 0.5 MW | 2022-07 | 4.1 yrs |
| Works Kenneth Forbes, Lee Forbes Way - Solar Array | Solar Photovoltaics | 200 homes | 0.5 MW | 2023-06 | 3.2 yrs |
| Roberton Water Treatment Works - Solar Array | Solar Photovoltaics | 100 homes | 0.2 MW | 2023-06 | 3.1 yrs |
| Nether Blainslie Sawmill, Nether Blainslie - Solar PV Array | Solar Photovoltaics | 100 homes | 0.2 MW | 2023-05 | 3.2 yrs |
| Fish Yard Burgons Limited, Harbour Road - Solar Panels | Solar Photovoltaics | 100 homes | 0.2 MW | 2024-01 | 2.5 yrs |
| Lochcarron Waverley Mill, Rodgers Road - Solar Panels | Solar Photovoltaics | 100 homes | 0.2 MW | 2024-07 | 2.0 yrs |
| Kelso High School, Angraflat Road - Solar Panels | Solar Photovoltaics | — | — MW | 2023-06 | 3.2 yrs |
Plus 5 more approved within the last two years.
Batteries
| Site | Size | Status | While discharging |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eccles II Substation - Battery Energy Storage System | 500 MW | being built 2024 | could supply ≈1,752,000 homes |
| Eccles Battery Energy Storage System | 400 MW | being built 2023 | could supply ≈1,402,000 homes |
| Pittlesheugh Farm Bess, Springwells Farmhouse - Battery Energy Storage | 340 MW | in planning | could supply ≈1,191,000 homes |
| Bishops Dal - Battery Energy Storage System | 150 MW | in planning | could supply ≈526,000 homes |
| Teviot Wind Farm | 100 MW | in planning | could supply ≈350,000 homes |
| Bowshiel Farm - Battery Energy Storage | 80 MW | in planning | could supply ≈280,000 homes |
| Lees Hill Energy Park | 60 MW | in planning | could supply ≈210,000 homes |
| Mid Hill Wind Farm | 53 MW | in planning | could supply ≈186,000 homes |
| Eccles Substation, Eccles - Battery Energy Storage System | 50 MW | being built 2023 | could supply ≈175,000 homes |
| Longcroft Wind Farm | 50 MW | in planning | could supply ≈175,000 homes |
| Keepers House, Byrecleugh - Battery Energy Storage | 50 MW | approved, not built 2025 | could supply ≈173,000 homes |
| Ditcher Law Wind Farm | 30 MW | approved, not built 2026 | could supply ≈105,000 homes |
Wind farms paid to switch off
| Site | Paid, 12 months | Energy lost | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fallago Rig | £3.6m | a year of 17,000 homes' electricity | high |
| Crystal Rig Wind Farm Phase 2a | £3.4m | a year of 16,000 homes' electricity | medium |
| Toddleburn | £31k | a year of 100 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 John Lamont said about the grid in Parliament? Search Hansard →