Wind turbine and wind farm data: EIR release

Information requested

• How many wind turbines are currently (a) built and (b) operational in Scotland?
• How many wind farms are there in Scotland?

Response

As the information you have requested is 'environmental information' for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

I shall address each of your points in turn:

1. Please see table below on the number of Onshore and Offshore wind turbines in Scotland, of which 4723 are operational as at the end of September 2025:

Technology	Operational
Wind Offshore	495
Wind Onshore	4,228

Please note that turbines at the offshore wind sites Moray West Offshore Wind Farm Project and Neart na Gaoithe have been included in the operational figures, despite being recorded as “under construction” in the Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD). This is because they were reported as operational in the September edition of Energy Trends September 2025 and confirmed by colleagues in Marine Scotland.

These figures have been sourced from the Renewable Energy Planning Database maintained by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ): Renewable Energy Planning Database: quarterly extract - GOV.UK. Please note that there was a minimum installed capacity threshold for inclusion into the REPD of 1MW until 2021, at which point it was lowered to 150kW. This means that projects below 1MW that were going through the planning system before 2021 may not be represented in the REPD database. Despite the limitations in the data provided by DESNZ, we consider this to be the most reliable source for this data. In addition, there will be a number of domestic wind turbines installed in the curtilage of dwelling houses which did not require an application for planning permission and are therefore not included in these statistics.

2. With regards to onshore windfarms, the information you have requested regarding onshore wind projects is available through the Scottish Government - Energy Consents Unit Portal. The Portal contains records of all energy applications received by the Energy Consents Unit (ECU) and provides full transparency by publishing all documents associated with each application, including decisions. From the main page, you can select the Search tab, followed by Advanced Search. This allows you to search by case type and status, and the results can be exported into various file formats for further analysis.

In addition, we recommend consulting the Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD), maintained by the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). The REPD provides the most up‑to‑date and comprehensive resource on renewable energy projects, including their geographical spread, development status, and installed capacity. An interactive map is also available for ease of access.

Please see the relevant links below:

Renewable Energy Planning Database | DESNZ & Barbour ABI
Renewable Energy Planning Database: quarterly extract - GOV.UK

For offshore projects we are interpreting your request as relating to wind projects rather than wind farms, as a single turbine would not generally be considered a windfarm. Hence, we are treating the request as referring to offshore wind projects, which provides a consistent basis for reporting. There are currently 42 offshore wind projects in Scotland at various stages of development. Further details are available here: The market in Scotland | Offshore Wind Scotland | Offshore Wind Scotland

Under regulation 6(1)(b) of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we do not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format.

An exception 6(1)(b) of the EIRs (information already available) is subject to the ‘public interest test’.

Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception, as the information is already publicly available.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.