Whitelee onshore wind farm

Whitelee, over 15 years as the UK's largest onshore wind farm

Iberdrola projects Onshore wind Scottish Power United Kingdom Green hydrogen

Whitelee, with 215 turbines in operation and 539 megawatts installed, is the largest onshore wind farm in the UK and was for a period the largest in Europe. Situated in a privileged setting on Eaglesham Moor, just 15 kilometres from Glasgow, it became one of the first large-scale wind farms to be developed close to a population centre when it opened.

The development of the Whitelee wind farm - owned by ScottishPower Renewables, a company of the Iberdrola Group - began in 2000, applying for planning permission in 2002 and obtaining approval in 2006, with construction commencing. Whitelee was officially opened to the public in May 2009, although it had already been supplying power to the grid since January 2008 with the first phase of the wind farm.

Since then, the wind farm has undergone two phases of expansion External link, opens in new window., reaching its current size and installed capacity in 2012: 140 Siemens turbines and 75 Alstom turbines.

In 2015, a new operations centre External link, opens in new window. was opened at the Whitelee wind farm, from which ScottishPower Renewables' more than 30 wind farm developments, comprising more than 900 wind turbines, would be remotely monitored.

Green hydrogen from Whitelee

As part of Iberdrola's efforts to lead the energy transition, the company is also positioning itself in the UK in the area of green hydrogen. Thus, one of our main projects is to install a green hydrogen plant at Whitelee Park, with the capacity to generate 3,000 tonnes of H₂ per year from onshore wind power and supply enough emission-free hydrogen to power up to 550 round-trip buses per day between Glasgow and Edinburgh. 

11 million (£9.4 million) from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy's (BEIS) energy innovation portfolio for the construction of the project.

Whitelee Visitor Centre 

As well as generating clean, renewable energy for hundreds of thousands of homes in Scotland, Whitelee wind farm plays an active role in generating value for the community in which it is located, between the counties of East Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire and South Lanarkshire, in the south-west of the country. As such, its privileged natural environment receives an estimated 250,000 visitors a year.

Whitelee claims to be a great destination for family and active tourism in the region, with over 130 kilometres of trails to explore - on foot, by bike or on horseback - and free entry to the Whitelee Wind Farm Visitor Centre External link, opens in new window.. Opened in 2009 and managed by the Glasgow Science Centre, the centre offers an informative and interactive insight into the world of renewable energy. It also gives visitors the chance to get up close to the impressive turbines and learn more about the surrounding area with guided bus tours.

A park with recognised environmental excellence

Whitelee Wind Farm has been awarded the Green Flag Award three years in a row External link, opens in new window. for the work it carries out through its Whitelee Countryside Ranger Service, which looks after the habitats of native bird species and the restoration of natural peatlands. It is the only facility of its kind in the world with this international award, which recognises good management of parks, gardens and other green spaces that meet the needs of the communities they serve. 

Barry Carruthers, head of onshore wind at ScottishPower Renewables, said: "Whitelee is not only an essential part of the UK's energy transition to a clean energy future, it is also a much-loved green space.

Iberdrola, world leader in renewable energies

At Iberdrola, we decided to commit to renewable energies more than two decades ago as a fundamental pillar on which to build our safe, clean and competitive business model. Thanks to this vision, we are today world leaders in renewable energies, reaching 42,387 MW of renewables in operation  after Q1 2024.

This commitment is reflected in our Strategic Plan, in which we will allocate €15.5bn gross to renewables. More than half of this amount is focused on offshore wind in the US, UK, France and Germany; 28% on onshore wind and 18% on solar.