East Kilbride and Strathaven
East Kilbride and Strathaven was paid £3.1m last year to switch off its wind farms, because the wires south were full. That would cover every local household's electricity for 40 days. A further 38 MW of approved clean power (almost all onshore wind) is still waiting to be built here: enough to supply a year's electricity to 33,000 homes. A 55 MW battery approved at East Rogerton Cottage, Markethill Road in 2026 would store power that is currently wasted; it has not been built. A 40 MW battery was refused planning here in 2025; while discharging it could have supplied about 140,000 homes.
The waiting list
Every approved, unbuilt project
| Site | Technology | Enough for | Capacity | Approved | Waiting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mill Rig Wind Farm | Wind Onshore | 31,000 homes | 36.0 MW | 2024-03 | 2.4 yrs |
| Tennant Avenue College, East Kilbride - Solar Panels | Solar Photovoltaics | 300 homes | 0.9 MW | 2023-05 | 3.2 yrs |
| Logoch Windfarm, East Kilbride - Wind turbine | Wind Onshore | 400 homes | 0.5 MW | 2024-03 | 2.4 yrs |
| Police Training And Recruitment Centre, Eaglesham Road - Solar PV Panels | Solar Photovoltaics | 100 homes | 0.4 MW | 2023-03 | 3.4 yrs |
| Manson Place, Kelvin Industrial Estate - Solar Panels | Solar Photovoltaics | 100 homes | 0.2 MW | 2023-06 | 3.1 yrs |
| Reynolds Building, Scottish Enterprise Technology Park- Solar Panles | Solar Photovoltaics | 100 homes | 0.2 MW | 2023-08 | 2.9 yrs |
Plus 5 more approved within the last two years.
Batteries
| Site | Size | Status | While discharging |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Rogerton Cottage, Markethill Road - Battery Storage Facility | 55 MW | approved, not built 2026 | could supply ≈193,000 homes |
| Whitelee Wind Farm Battery Storage Extension | 50 MW | 2019 | could supply ≈175,000 homes |
| Gilbertfield Farm, Gilbertfield Road - Battery Storage Facility | 40 MW | refused 2025 | could supply ≈140,000 homes |
| Langlands Gate, East Kilbride - Battery Energy Storage | 30 MW | refused 2025 | could supply ≈105,000 homes |
Wind farms paid to switch off
| Site | Paid, 12 months | Energy lost | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kype Muir Wind Farm | £1.7m | a year of 11,000 homes' electricity | high |
| Kype Muir Wind Farm Extension | £1.4m | a year of 20,000 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 Joani Reid said about the grid in Parliament? Search Hansard →