ScottishPower has announced plans to repower and double capacity of the UK's flagship onshore windfarm, Whitelee, in a £1.5bn project that will boost the country's energy security while creating hundreds of jobs and £500m in supply chain opportunities.
Plans announced by ScottishPower Renewables (SPR) could mean Whitelee generating enough energy to power the equivalent of 650,000 homes - 300,000 more than currently - helping keep bills down long-term.
Economic and community benefits
Over the ten years of development and construction, it is estimated the project will generate £330m of Gross Value Added (GVA) for the Scottish economy.
In a landmark development for the energy sector, ScottishPower Renewables is committing to ensuring the community is involved in the project through potential ownership opportunities and an enlarged community benefit fund. Whitelee has contributed £20million so far to East Renfrewshire, East Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire Councils via community benefit, and the new plans will mean increased financial benefit – anticipated to be around £5million every year.
The plans announced today are on top of ScottishPower's record £24bn investment plan to 2028, which is also supporting record supply chain spend - over £1bn in the first half of 2026 alone - with 76% in companies located in the UK. Alongside UK contract opportunities, a multi-ports strategy for delivery of turbines and other components will mean further economic benefit Scotland-wide.
As well as the £1.5bn investment to expand and repower the windfarm, there will also be continued investment over 40 years for the operation and maintenance of the site.
Repowering details
The repowering proposals will see fewer but more modern, larger powered turbines across the site, with a reduction to 124 turbines around 250m in height, taking capacity from 539megawatts to 1gigawatt.
Whitelee has become a national treasure and hugely popular with the public. The habitat restoration and accessibility put in place when first built meant the former, mostly-wild, moorland has become a beloved community asset for local dog-walkers, runners and nature lovers, as well as being a favoured educational trip destination for schools throughout Scotland.
The work is being carried out in three phases, with the aim of maintaining public access to parts of the site throughout the project, subject to health and safety requirements, and ultimately ensuring continued open access for generations to come.
Timeline and background
Whitelee was originally commissioned in 2008 and consisted of 140 turbines when it opened to the public in 2009. Since then, the windfarm has undergone two phases of extensions with the phase 1 extension adding 36 turbines to the development and phase 2 adding a further 39, taking the total to 215.
The scale and length of time covered by the development and construction phase will give the supply chain the confidence to invest in new equipment and jobs, delivering a more resilient UK supply chain. ScottishPower Renewables has been working closely with landowners, including Forestry Land Scotland and Scottish Water, to secure the future of the site for generations to come.
The site currently covers an area of approximately 83km2 and straddles East Renfrewshire, East Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire council areas. The plans, which include a new substation, have now been lodged with the Scottish Government's Energy Consents Unit and will be published online in the coming weeks. A planning application is set to be submitted in December 2027, and it would be planned to be operational by 2035.
CEO statement
Charlie Jordan, ScottishPower Renewables Chief Executive, said: “Whitelee is one of the largest onshore windfarms in Europe and the jewel in the UK's renewables crown, powering Greater Glasgow and beyond with clean, green power for almost two decades. We want to build on the existing success of our windfarms before they reach the end of their natural lifespan and we lose the benefit of their clean power capacity. Whitelee can set the repowering standard, unlocking the continued potential of existing infrastructure. It also means re-benefitting communities with direct financial benefit as well as a fantastic opportunity for partial community ownership.”
He added: “At this critical moment in the push for home-grown clean, green energy, it's important we don't go in reverse and lose the clean capacity that's been hard earned over the last two decades as it comes to the end of its operational life. Retaining and increasing the output from Whitelee is good news for the UK and Scotland, good news for jobs and good news for the community and economy.”
