CONSTITUENCY BRIEFING · ENERGYMAP.APP
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross was paid £36m last year to switch off its wind farms, because the wires south were full. That would cover every local household's electricity for about 1.2 years. A further 938 MW of approved clean power (almost all onshore wind) is still waiting to be built here: enough to supply a year's electricity to 819,000 homes. A 300 MW battery approved at Philips Mains, Mey in 2026 would store power that is currently wasted; it has not been built.
Ranks 1 of 650 for clean power approved and not built; 2 of 19 among seats with visible switch-off payments.
What is stuck, and why
| Project and developer | Tech | Size | Approved | Why it is stuck | Earliest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Titan Battery StorageGreen Switch Capital Limited | Battery | 500 MW |
— | Applied in 2025, still waiting for a decisionWho can move it: the Scottish Government (it decides big energy projects) · Planning ref ECU00005199 | — |
| Philips Mains, Mey - Battery Energy StorageAmpeak Energy | Battery | 300 MW |
2026 | Approved less than a year ago — nothing has happened sinceWho can move it: the developer and the network company · Planning ref ECU00004838 | — |
| Spittal Mains, Spittal - Battery Energy Storage SystField Spittal Limited | Battery | 300 MW |
— | Waiting 1.6 years for a planning decisionWho can move it: the Scottish Government (it decides big energy projects) · Planning ref ECU00005116 | — |
| Upper Bighouse Biomass BoilersUpper Bighouse Farm | Biomass (dedicated) | 260 MW |
— | Waiting 5.5 years for a planning decisionWho can move it: Highland Council · Planning ref 21/00334/FUL | — |
| Invershin Community Hall - Wind Farm & Battery StoraGarvary Wind Farm Limited | Onshore wind | 194,000 homes 222 MW |
2025 | Approved a year ago — nothing has happened sinceWho can move it: the developer and the network company · Planning ref ECU00003251 | — |
| Strathy SouthScottish and Southern Energy (SSE) | Onshore wind | 182,000 homes 208 MW |
2018 | Cannot connect to the grid until 2027, 9 years after it was approvedWho can move it: the grid operator (NESO) and SSEN Transmission · Planning ref EC00003113 | 2027 |
| Inveroykel Wind FarmRWE Renewables UK Swindon Limited | Onshore wind | 167,000 homes 191 MW |
— | Still in the grid queue review — no firm connection date yetWho can move it: the grid operator (NESO) · Planning ref ECU00005210 | 2031 |
| Achies - Battery Energy Storage SystemSun4net Limited | Battery | 162 MW |
— | Waiting 1.2 years for a planning decisionWho can move it: the Scottish Government (it decides big energy projects) · Planning ref ECU00006111 | 2037 |
| Ballach Wind FarmEnergiekontor (UK) Limited | Onshore wind | 126,000 homes 144 MW |
— | Cannot connect to the grid until 2037Who can move it: the grid operator (NESO) and SSEN Transmission · Planning ref ECU00005219 | 2037 |
| Coille Linne Wind Farm- Wind TurbinesEnergiekontor (UK) Limited | Onshore wind | 95,000 homes 108 MW |
— | Waiting 1.1 years for a planning decisionWho can move it: the Scottish Government (it decides big energy projects) · Planning ref ECU00005163 | 2037 |
| Shinness Wind FarmShinness Wind Farm Limited | Onshore wind | 92,000 homes 106 MW |
— | Waiting 2.3 years for a planning decisionWho can move it: the Scottish Government (it decides big energy projects) · Planning ref ECU00004597 | — |
| Shinness Wind FarmShinness Wind Farm Limited | Battery | 105 MW |
— | Waiting 2.3 years for a planning decisionWho can move it: the Scottish Government (it decides big energy projects) · Planning ref ECU00004597 | — |
Plus 75 smaller projects — see the full seat page.
What building it would do here
- Building what is already approved or refused here would supply a year's electricity to about 2,269,100 homes (5,324 MW).
- It would pay about £13m a year to the local community — using the rate the government sets for wind farms, and the rates proposed for solar and batteries.
- It would be worth roughly £54m a year in business rates to the council, judging by what comparable sites are rated at.
- At peak, construction would put an estimated 4,159–4,950 people on site across these projects.
Estimates from published per-MW factors — sources and dates in the method.
Compared with its neighbours
| Constituency | Approved, not built | Running | Paid to switch off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross | 938 MW | 1,306 MW | £36m |
| Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire | 453 MW | 1,272 MW | £41m |
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross has more approved-and-waiting capacity than any of its neighbouring seats.
What to ask
WRITTEN PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION · DEPARTMENT FOR ENERGY SECURITY AND NET ZERO
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she is taking to bring forward the grid connection date for Strathy South in Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, which received planning permission in 2018 and holds a connection offer for 2027.
WRITTEN PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION · MINISTRY OF HOUSING, COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
To ask the Secretary of State, what assessment she has made of the time taken to determine planning applications for renewable energy projects, including Spittal Mains, Spittal - Battery Energy Storage System in Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, which has been awaiting a decision for 19 months.
WRITTEN PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION · DEPARTMENT FOR ENERGY SECURITY AND NET ZERO
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate she has made of the cost of constraint payments made to wind farms in Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross in the last 12 months, and what steps she is taking to reduce that cost through network reinforcement and storage.
LETTER TO THE GRID OPERATOR (NESO) AND SSEN TRANSMISSION
I am writing about Strathy South in my constituency of Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross. The project already has planning permission, but cannot connect to the grid until 2027. Please set out what would be required to bring that date forward, whether the project has been considered for an earlier connection, and what my constituents can expect in the meantime.
QUESTION TO THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT (IT DECIDES BIG ENERGY PROJECTS)
Kintradwell Lodge - Wind Farm (63 MW) was refused planning permission in 2023. Please confirm the grounds for refusal, whether the applicant was offered the opportunity to address them, and what capacity of generation or storage has been approved in the authority area since.
QUESTION TO THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT (IT DECIDES BIG ENERGY PROJECTS)
The application for Spittal Mains, Spittal - Battery Energy Storage System has been awaiting a decision for 19 months. Please set out the reason for the delay and the expected determination date.
Constituents can write to Jamie Stone via WriteToThem, or see what they have said about the grid in Parliament.
Story angles
1. Wind farms in Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross were paid £36m last year not to generate — enough to pay for every household here's electricity for about 1.2 years.
2. Approved in 2023, connecting in 2033: the wind onshore project in Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross that will wait 10 years for a wire.
3. Approved in 2018, connecting in 2027: the wind onshore project in Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross that will wait 9 years for a wire.
Numbers, CSVs and per-seat JSON are free to reuse with attribution to energymap.app. Method and caveats.
Sources. Switch-off payments: Elexon settlement data, 12 months to 31 Jul 2026. Planning: Renewable Energy Planning Database (DESNZ), July 2026. Connection dates: NESO Transmission Entry Capacity register. Bill impact: NESO balancing cost reporting. Households: ONS/NRS/NISRA census. MP: UK Parliament Members API.
How to check any of this. Every project above carries its planning application reference. Search that reference on the council's own planning register for the primary record, including the decision notice and, where a project was refused, the reasons. Statuses here come from the government's planning database (REPD, July 2026 edition), which records the status and date of a decision but not the reasons for it — so this briefing never states why something was refused.
Caveats for this seat. 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.
Generated 25 August 2026 · full method at energymap.app/method
How to check any of this. Every project above carries its planning application reference. Search that reference on the council's own planning register for the primary record, including the decision notice and, where a project was refused, the reasons. Statuses here come from the government's planning database (REPD, July 2026 edition), which records the status and date of a decision but not the reasons for it — so this briefing never states why something was refused.
Caveats for this seat. 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.
Generated 25 August 2026 · full method at energymap.app/method