Hi, I’m Amber Spencer, and I’ll be writing about industry news and updates, using our decision-level planning data to analyse and make sense of current planning trends! I’ll be focusing on major infrastructure and residential projects across the UK, and what they reveal about the state of the planning system. 

My column’s title - Build, Baby, Build - is a nod to the Housing Secretary, Steve Reed’s recent CTA to get the UK on the right track of building 1.5 million homes. Ministers are promising sweeping planning reforms, investment to unlock stalled development, and new legislative measures to accelerate delivery. But do these ambitions show up in the data? That’s something we’ll be picking apart. Build, Baby, Build will also touch upon broader trends shaping planning beyond policy, from market behaviour and delivery constraints to local decision-making patterns. 

This week’s column will discuss the large-scale development of wind farms in the Scottish Highlands, and whether this reflects the Government’s ramped-up drive towards renewable energy sources. 

Scottish Highland wind farms 

The Scottish Highlands have become one of the UK’s most popular spots for wind energy development. With consistent wind resources, expansive coast and offshore areas, and proximity to deep-water sites, the region is increasingly seen as strategically well-placed to support the UK’s transition to net-zero by 2050. The UK Government’s immediate removal of the onshore wind ban in 2024 and introduction of the clean power plan shows a crackdown on delivering renewable energy generation. The Scottish Government is notoriously supportive of wind development policies, with our data showing a total of 1,679 wind-related applications receiving planning approval in 2025. This positions the Highlands as a hotspot for future schemes. 

The West of Orkney Windfarm 

The West of Orkney wind farm is a major proposal to install 125 offshore wind turbines around 30km west of the Orkney mainland and approximately 25km from the north Sutherland coast. The windfarm is expected to begin generating power in 2030, with its 2 GW capacity capable of supplying electricity to the equivalent of more than 2 million homes. This is the first ScotWind backed-project to receive both offshore and onshore planning consent, marking a milestone for the next generation of sweeping offshore development in the area. Highland council’s wind turbine map shows the sheer size of the project in comparison to nearby onshore farms. 

Validated in October 2023, this project wasn’t approved until June 2025, experiencing a substantial consultation period in between. I was really intrigued to find a concern filed regarding the safety of diadromous fish, emphasising the wide nature of risks these major infrastructure projects can cause! Despite these considerations, the West of Orkney Windfarm has been given the green light by Scottish ministers, contributing, in my view, to a broader, joint government effort to accelerate the rollout of sustainable development. 

Through an analysis of our planning data, I found that the 2 largest proposals to have been validated in the UK in November are also set to be constructed in the Scottish Highlands. 

Ruith Cnoc Wind Farm 

The Ruith Cnoc Wind Farm proposal was recently validated on 25 November 2025 for the construction of 42 turbines, which, if approved, will cover an extensive area of 14.7km². The site is located in Ardgay and consists of moorland and commercial forestry. The wind farm is proposed to have a 0.5 GW capacity, generating enough electricity to power around 500,000 homes, if we go off the West of Orkney conversion. 

Woodcock Hill Wind Farm 

Validated on 20 November 2025, the Woodcock Hill wind farm application has a proposed size of roughly 10.2km², and is currently in the committee stage. Ørsted are hoping to build 11 wind turbines to help power the National Grid, with a direct goal of helping the government achieve their 95% low-carbon energy generation by 2030. 

What does this tell us about renewable energy rollout? 

As per our analysis, between the period of September-December 2023, 43 wind farms in Scotland were validated and 20 approved. When we applied the same search for September-December 2025, we found that 46 had been validated and only 10 approved. 

The data points to a broader planning reality: ambition moves faster than delivery. Strong policy support does not translate into immediate approvals. While renewable energy policy is clearly heading in a swifter direction under the Labour government, approval rates have yet to catch up, reflecting the long timelines and complexity built into the planning system. In this context, momentum is best seen in the scale of proposals entering the pipeline. The conclusion? Planning reform is taking time to show up in outcomes.