Orkney and Shetland
Orkney and Shetland was paid £15m last year to switch off its wind farms, because the wires south were full. That would cover every local household's electricity for about 1.1 years. A further 333 MW of approved clean power (all onshore wind) is still waiting to be built here: enough to supply a year's electricity to 291,000 homes. A 15 MW battery approved at Luggies Knowe, Hill Of Gremista 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy Isles Wind Farm | Wind Onshore | 110,000 homes | 126.0 MW | 2023-10 | 2.8 yrs |
| Beaw Field Wind Farm | Wind Onshore | 52,000 homes | 59.5 MW | 2017-11 | 8.7 yrs |
| Mossy Hill | Wind Onshore | 41,000 homes | 46.8 MW | 2019-05 | 7.2 yrs |
| Orkney’s Community Wind Farm Project - Qanterness | Wind Onshore | 25,000 homes | 28.8 MW | 2021-12 | 4.6 yrs |
| Orkney’s Community Wind Farm Project - Hoy | Wind Onshore | 25,000 homes | 28.8 MW | 2021-12 | 4.6 yrs |
| Hesta Head Wind Farm | Wind Onshore | 18,000 homes | 20.4 MW | 2019-04 | 7.3 yrs |
| Costa Head Wind Farm | Wind Onshore | 14,000 homes | 16.3 MW | 2019-04 | 7.3 yrs |
| Akla | Wind Onshore | 2,400 homes | 2.7 MW | 2012-12 | 13.6 yrs |
| North Hoo Fields | Wind Onshore | 2,000 homes | 2.3 MW | 2024-07 | 2.1 yrs |
| Hammer, Skelwick - Wind Turbine | Wind Onshore | 400 homes | 0.5 MW | 2023-12 | 2.7 yrs |
| Ludenhill, Lochside Road - Wind Turbine | Wind Onshore | 400 homes | 0.5 MW | 2024-03 | 2.4 yrs |
Plus 4 more approved within the last two years.
Batteries
| Site | Size | Status | While discharging |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shetland Battery Energy Storage System | 70 MW | being built 2024 | could supply ≈245,000 homes |
| Luggies Knowe, Hill Of Gremista - Wind Turbines & Battery Storage | 15 MW | approved, not built 2025 | could supply ≈52,000 homes |
| Greentoft, Neven Point, Eday - Wind Turbines & BESS | 10 MW | in planning | could supply ≈35,000 homes |
Wind farms paid to switch off
| Site | Paid, 12 months | Energy lost | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Viking Wind Farm | £15m | a year of 511,000 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 Mr Alistair Carmichael said about the grid in Parliament? Search Hansard →