Wind power is the fastest-growing renewable energy technology in Scotland, with 17.7 gigawatts (GW) of installed wind power capacity by Q2 2025. This included 10.4 GW from onshore wind in Scotland and 4.3 GW of offshore wind generators. The largest onshore wind farm in the UK is Whitelee, just south of Glasgow, with 215 turbines and a total capacity of 539 MW.

There is further potential for expansion, especially offshore given the high average wind speeds, and a number of large offshore wind farms are planned. As offshore wind farms are moving into deeper water, floating wind turbines are being used. Hywind Scotland off the coast of Peterhead was the world's first floating offshore wind farm, commissioned in October 2017.

Targets

The Scottish Government has achieved its target of generating 50% of Scotland's electricity from renewable energy by 2015, and hoped to achieve 100% by 2020, which was raised from the lower target of 50% in September 2010. The majority of this was expected to come from wind power.Europe's Largest Onshore Wind Farm Is Switched on in Scotland Renewable Energy World, 20 May 2009. Renewables produced the equivalent of 113% of Scotland's electricity consumption in 2022, mostly from wind.

The target for 2030, made in 2023, was for 11 GW of offshore wind by 2030. This would represent an increase of 400% in offshore wind and a 60% increase in total wind generated power and form part of the 50 GW of offshore wind planned by the UK by 2030. The EU North Seas Energy Cooperation group plans on having 76 GW in the North Sea by 2030.

In January 2026, the target for offshore wind in Scotland was increased to 40 GW by 2040. This was announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy, Gillian Martin at the Scottish Renewables Offshore Wind Conference in Glasgow.

Historical installations The wind turbine was invented by James Blyth and installed at his home in Marykirk in the Mearns, in 1887, leading to a second being installed at the Montrose Lunatic Asylum in 1895 at the Sunnyside Royal Hospital.

The first recorded public electricity system was installed on Wormit hill to supply the houses built by Alexander Stewart who built much of the village This initially consisted of a "windmill" on Wormit Hill and backup steam generator before replacement with a diesel generator in the 1930s.

Contribution to the Scottish power grid On Sunday 7 August 2016, a combination of high wind and low consumption caused more wind power generation (106%) than consumption in Scotland. Scottish wind turbines provided 39,545 MWh during the 24 hours of that date, while consumption was 37,202 MWh. It was the first time that measurements were available to confirm that fact. Renewables produced the equivalent of 97.4% of Scotland's electricity consumption in 2020, mostly from wind. In 2020, 3.6 TWh of Scottish wind power was curtailed.

In 2004, wind power produced nearly 850 GWh of electricity in Scotland, around 1.7% of all generation, and by 2010, this had increased to nearly 4.9 TWh (9.9%). In 2017, wind generated over a quarter (27%) of the electricity in Scotland. In 2020 it was 23.1 TWh (45%), although this dropped in 2021 to 19.9 TWh (42%). In 2022, wind generation in Scotland reached 28.8 TWh (55%). Over this period, the total annual electricity generation in Scotland has remained fairly constant, at around 50 TWh.

Large wind farms

Black Law Wind Farm

The 54-turbine Black Law Wind Farm has a total capacity of 124 MW. It is located near Forth in Lanarkshire and was built on old opencast coalmine site, with an original capacity of 97 MW from 42 turbines. It employs seven permanent staff on site and created 200 jobs during construction. A second phase saw the installation of a further 12 turbines. The project has received wide recognition for its contribution to environmental objectives. Over the period April 2009 to March 2010, Black Law Wind Farm produced 19.19% of its rated capacity.

Braes of Doune Wind Farm The Braes of Doune Wind Farm opened in 2007 and is located close to Stirling. The wind farm has 36 Vestas 2 MW wind turbines. The farm was built and is run by Airtricity.

Clyde Wind Farm

The Clyde Wind Farm is a 522 MW wind farm near Abington in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The 152-turbine project by Scottish and Southern Energy, which was approved by the Scottish Parliament in July 2008, is capable of powering 300,000 homes. Turbines have been built either side of the M74 motorway. Construction of the wind farm, which is budgeted for £600 million, started in early 2009 and finished in 2012. The farm was opened at a ceremonial ribbon cutting by First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond in September 2012.

Crystal Rig Wind Farm Crystal Rig Wind Farm is an operational onshore wind farm located on the Lammermuir Hills in the Scottish Borders region of Scotland. When it was completed in May 2004 it was the largest wind farm in Scotland. As a result of 3 extensions it is currently the 2nd largest wind farm in the UK, both in terms of nameplate capacity and number of turbines. The whole site has 85 turbines and a nameplate capacity of 200.5 MW.

Farr Wind Farm Farr Wind Farm is located some 10 miles south of Inverness, and comprises 40 wind turbines with a total installed capacity of 92 MW. Every year the wind farm generates enough clean electricity to meet the average annual needs of some 54,000 homes.

Hadyard Hill Wind Farm

Hadyard Hill Wind Farm, owned and operated by Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE), became the first wind farm in the UK with a capacity of over 100 MW. The 120 MW, 52-turbine wind farm in South Ayrshire cost £85 million and in a year generates enough electricity to power 80,000 homes, sufficient to supply every household in a city the size of York. The production of zero carbon electricity at the wind farm is expected to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by almost 300,000 tonnes a year, equivalent to taking 70,000 cars off the road.

Novar Wind Farm Novar Wind Farm is a 50 turbine, 53.8MW wind farm located in the Scottish Highlands. Constructed in 1997, Novar was of the earlier developments of Scottish on-shore wind generation. It provided a significant contribution to the local economy during construction and through its Community Benefit Fund. In 2010 an additional 16 turbines were constructed taking the yearly generation capacity to 53.8MW.

Viking Wind Farm The Viking Wind Farm in the Shetland Islands was first proposed as a 600 MW 150 turbine project in 2009. After reduction in scope due to environmental concerns about effects of wildlife and peat bog carbon release during construction, as well as potential interference with equipment at Scatsta Airport the scheme was approved in 2012 as a 103 turbine scheme of 370 MW. The scheme is expected to achieve high capacity factors due to wind conditions in Shetland, as the Burradale has a capacity factor just over 50%. A high-voltage cable was laid to link Shetland to the UK electricity grid. The subsea cable and 103 turbine scheme capable of generating 443 MW was completed in August 2024.

Whitelee Wind Farm Whitelee Wind Farm, near Eaglesham, East Renfrewshire is the largest on-shore wind farm in the United Kingdom with 215 Siemens and Alstom wind turbines and a total capacity of 539 MW.http://www.whiteleewindfarm.co.uk/about_windfarm?nav Whitelee Windfarm

There are many other large onshore wind farms in Scotland, at various stages of development, including some that are in community ownership.

Under construction or proposed

Whitelaw Brae Wind Farm Whitelaw Brae windfarm is located approximately 3 miles south of Tweedsmuir in the Scottish Borders. It is planned to commence generation in winter 2026/27. The windfarm is funded using a co-operative model by Ripple Energy, allowing for small investments from individuals based on offsetting their own annual electricity consumption. According to project developers BayWa r.e. Whitelaw Brae Wind Farm will feature up to 14 turbines with an expected generating capacity of up to 57 MW, which is enough energy to supply approximately 43,000 homes.

Lethans Wind Farm Lethans Wind Farm, east of New Cumnock was approved in 2020 as the tallest wind farm at 220m with 22 turbines with a capacity of 105MW.

Offshore wind farms

Scotland is the home to two offshore wind demonstration projects: The two turbine, 10 MW Beatrice Demonstrator Project located in the Moray Firth, and the single turbine, 7 MW Fife Energy Park Offshore Demonstration Wind Turbine in the Firth of Forth. There are also several other commercial-scale and demonstration projects in the planning stages.

Scotland has continued to develop its offshore wind industry, with a growing number of commercial-scale and demonstration projects planned or under development. These offshore wind farm projects in Scotland are located in areas including the Moray Firth and Firth of Forth, taking advantage of the country's extensive offshore wind resource and existing energy infrastructure.

Scotland's first offshore wind turbine was placed near the Beatrice Oil Field, off the east coast in the Moray Firth, North Sea, in August 2006. This was the world's largest wind turbine at the time, an REpower 5M, with a maximum output of 5 MW. A second identical turbine joined it and the wind farm began supplying electricity in August 2007. As of February 2010, Beatrice Wind Farm is the deepest and northernmost offshore wind installation in the world.

This was the first time such large offshore wind turbines had been tested, and the first time any wind turbine generators have been assembled in such deep (44 metres) water. Such large wind turbine generators are ideally suited to the offshore environment due to high consistent wind speeds and minimal turbulence. According to historical measures of wind speeds at the Beatrice offshore location, it is expected that the turbines will run 96% of the time (8440 hours per year), and at 10 MW full power 38% of the time (3300 hours per year).

In January 2010 contracts were awarded for a major expansion of offshore wind power in the seas around Scotland. Moray Offshore Renewables will develop offshore wind power in the Moray Firth, and SeaGreen Wind Energy will develop offshore wind in the Firth of Forth. These developments could lead to 1,000 new wind turbines generating nearly 5,000 MW of power. Jobs "could also be created in manufacturing, research, engineering, installation, operation and services".New offshore wind farm contracts announced BBC News, 8 January 2010. In July 2016, RSPB challenged development in the Firth of Forth and Firth of Tay.

ScotWind leasing round In January 2022, results of the ScotWind leasing round were announced by Crown Estate Scotland who manage the seabed off the coast of Scotland. Seventeen projects totalling around 25 GW were awarded option agreements, which could raise £700m in option fees. While noting offshore wind has a role to plan in addressing climate change, RSPB Scotland criticised the projects, claiming they could kill hundreds of seabird. In August 2022, a further 2.8 GW from three three floating wind projects to the east of Shetland were awarded in the clearing process. The Scottish Government faced some criticism it was undervaluing the seabed, initially setting the option agreements at up to £10k per km2 although this was revised to £100k per km2 before the auction. Crown Estate Scotland expects that the rent paid by projects that get built, at £1.07 per MWh produced would be more than the £756m in option fees.

INTOG leasing round