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West of Scotland Area

Point A - Whitelee wind farm

The Whitelee wind farm which can be seen from most parts of Glasgow is a vast wind farm on the southern edge of Glasgow. The main visitor centre is located in East Renfrewshire, but the majority of turbines are situated in East Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. It is the largest on-shore wind farm in the UK and second largest in Europe after Fântânele-Cogealac, in Romania. It has 215 Siemens and Alstom wind turbines and a total capacity of 539 megawatts (MW). Whitelee was developed and is operated by ScottishPower Renewables, which is part of the Spanish company Iberdrola. https://www.whiteleewindfarm.co.uk/whitelee-windfarm-about-us

The Wind Farm also has an excellent visitor centre and receives many educational visits. For example, to teach primary school children about renewable energy:

And, as well as being popular on Instagram, Wind Farms are popular with young Scots!67% of 16-24 year olds in Scotland support the use of onshore wind to generate power: https://renews.biz/67749/snapping-turbines-proving-popular-with-young-scots/
You can also cycle around the wind farm on miles of trails – and sometimes there is cycle hire available. https://www.whiteleewindfarm.co.uk/outdoor-pursuits/activities/cyclists


Photos on page by J. Wilson and D.Parkin