en.Wedoany.com Reported - ScottishPower has announced plans to upgrade the Whitelee onshore wind farm, boosting its generation capacity to over 1 GW. This would double its current installed capacity of 533 MW, making it one of the largest wind farms in Europe.
The proposal involves a "repowering" of the wind farm, replacing the existing 214 turbines in East Renfrewshire with fewer but significantly taller units. Under the plan, the number of turbines could be reduced to 124, while installed capacity increases from 533 MW to over 1 GW. The current generation of turbines, with blade tip heights reaching 140 meters, are nearing the end of their operational life; the new turbines could have blade tip heights exceeding 240 meters.
Keith Anderson, Chief Executive of ScottishPower, stated that repowering the site is "crucial" for its future. Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland, he described Whitelee as an iconic wind farm and the largest in the UK, with significant appeal. Regarding the size of the new turbines, he said they would be larger and taller but must be considered within the landscape context. He noted that the area was originally covered in commercial forestry, which the company has largely removed, restoring it to a more natural state. He added that increasing the site's scale and output would generate more renewable energy for the country.
Whitelee Wind Farm has been open to the public since its opening in 2008. ScottishPower stated that the proposal would be implemented in three phases to keep the visitor center operational.
The announcement comes as the energy giant disclosed profit growth driven by recent infrastructure investments. ScottishPower reported that its EBITDA for the first six months of 2026 increased by 17% to £1.7 billion compared to the same period last year. The group attributed this to investments in grid and clean power assets, including the acquisition of Electricity North West. Additionally, enhanced output from the renewable energy division and the sale of some assets, including its metering business, provided support. However, the report also noted a decline in underlying profit from its retail business due to lower margins, reduced energy usage, and rising policy costs related to "energy efficiency schemes."
