Hamilton and Clyde Valley
Hamilton and Clyde Valley was paid £170k last year to switch off its wind farms, because the wires south were full. That would cover every local household's electricity for 2.1 days. A further 2.1 MW of approved clean power (all solar) is still waiting to be built here: enough to supply a year's electricity to 700 homes. A 50 MW battery approved at Cornhills Farm, Muttonhole Road 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dfds Logistics, Middleton Avenue - Solar Panels | Solar Photovoltaics | 300 homes | 0.7 MW | 2023-07 | 3.0 yrs |
| David Lloyd, Mote Hill - Solar panels | Solar Photovoltaics | 200 homes | 0.7 MW | 2023-10 | 2.8 yrs |
| Stanley Boulevard, Hamilton Tech Park - Roof Mounted Photovoltaic Panels | Solar Photovoltaics | 100 homes | 0.2 MW | 2024-03 | 2.4 yrs |
| International House, Stanley Boulevard - Solar Array | Solar Photovoltaics | 100 homes | 0.2 MW | 2023-06 | 3.1 yrs |
| Skellyton Wastewater Treatment Works - Solar Photovoltaic Panels | Solar Photovoltaics | 100 homes | 0.2 MW | 2022-07 | 4.1 yrs |
Plus 2 more approved within the last two years.
Batteries
| Site | Size | Status | While discharging |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coalburn Energy - Battery Storage | 500 MW | being built 2023 | could supply ≈1,752,000 homes |
| Rogerhill Solar and Battery Energy Storage System | 100 MW | in planning | could supply ≈350,000 homes |
| Cornhills Farm, Muttonhole Road - Battery Storage | 50 MW | approved, not built 2025 | could supply ≈175,000 homes |
Wind farms paid to switch off
| Site | Paid, 12 months | Energy lost | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auchrobert Wind Farm | £170k | a year of 700 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 Imogen Walker said about the grid in Parliament? Search Hansard →