Whitelee onshore wind farm

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.

ScottishPower announced plans to repower the wind farm in July 2026. Through an investment of €1.8 billion, the existing wind turbines will be replaced with larger, more advanced models, increasing installed capacity from 539 MW to 1,000 MW. The project, which will be carried out over the coming years, will generate enough clean electricity to supply more than 1.5 million people. It will also deliver a significant boost to the Scottish economy, creating €380 million in gross value added and supporting hundreds of jobs across the region.

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.

Whitelee Battery: the UK's largest battery supporting a wind farm

In November 2022, alongside the Whitelee wind farm, the UK's largest battery connected to a wind farm entered operation. With an installed capacity of 50 megawatts (MW) and covering an area roughly equivalent to half a football pitch, this lithium-ion battery stores surplus electricity generated by the wind for use when it is needed.

To put its scale into perspective, the Whitelee Battery has enough storage capacity to power the equivalent of four million smartphones, while it can be fully charged in just one hour. Together with the Gorman and Barnesmore battery projects, located alongside the wind farms of the same name, it represents a major milestone in the UK's electrification journey. These battery energy storage systems (BESS) support the country's strategy to maximize the potential of renewable energy while strengthening the electricity network.

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 is a great destination for family and active tourism in the region, with more than 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 committed to renewable energy 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 currently world leaders in renewables, reaching 45,830 MW of clean energy in operation by the end of the first half of 2026.

This commitment is reflected in the €21 billion that our Strategic Plan 2025-2028 allocates to Renewables and Customers, with 38% dedicated to offshore wind, 24% to onshore wind, 10% to solar photovoltaic and another 10% to energy storage.