Solar, wind and battery projects near Penicuik (EH26)
11 solar, wind or battery projects of 150 kW or more are recorded within 10 km of the centre of EH26 (Midlothian): 4 are waiting for a planning decision, 4 approved but not yet running. The largest live scheme is Riccarton Mains Road (150 MW battery storage, application submitted on 26 March 2025, no decision recorded), 9.2 km away. Offshore, 2 wind farms are recorded within 40 km; the nearest is Forthwind (20 MW, approved, not built), 38.4 km away. Source: Renewable Energy Planning Database, July 2026 extract.
Projects within 10 km of EH26
Projects of 1 MW and more (6)
| Project | Type | MW | Status (REPD) | Submitted | Decision | Record updated | Council | km |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Easter Bushsolar farm | solar farm | 3 | under constructionupdated Sep 2020 | Jan 2019 | granted Oct 2021 | Sep 2020 | Midlothian | 4.2 |
| Auchencorth Mosswind farm | wind farm | 45 | refusedupdated Oct 2009 | Jan 2006 | refused Feb 2008 | Oct 2009 | Midlothian | 4.7 |
| Mount Lothian Wind Farmwind farm | wind farm | 20.7 | refused on appealupdated Nov 2015 | Jan 2014 | refused Nov 2015 | Nov 2015 | Midlothian | 5.9 |
| Spurlens Rig Wind Clusterwind farm | wind farm | 12 | refusedupdated Jan 2012 | Dec 2010 | refused Nov 2011 | Jan 2012 | Scottish Borders | 6.9 |
| Existing Kaimes Substation, Old Burdiehouse Roadbattery storage | battery storage | 49.9 | application submitted may be out of dateupdated Apr 2024 | Mar 2024 | — | Apr 2024 | City of Edinburgh | 7.8 |
| Riccarton Mains Roadbattery storage | battery storage | 150 | application submittedupdated Oct 2025 | Mar 2025 | — | Oct 2025 | City of Edinburgh | 9.2 |
Smaller schemes under 1 MW, mostly rooftop solar (5)
| Project | Type | MW | Status (REPD) | Submitted | Decision | Record updated | Council | km |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rullion Roadsolar farm | solar farm | 0.3 | approved, not builtupdated May 2025 | Feb 2025 | granted Apr 2025 | May 2025 | Midlothian | 0.9 |
| Silverburn Water Tank, Hopelands Roadsolar farm | solar farm | 0.2 | approved, not builtupdated Sep 2023 | Oct 2022 | granted Sep 2023 | Sep 2023 | Midlothian | 2.9 |
| James Hamilton Way Solar Farmsolar farm | solar farm | — | application submitted may be out of dateupdated Mar 2022 | Feb 2022 | — | Mar 2022 | Midlothian | 3.4 |
| Hawthornden Castlesolar farm | solar farm | 0.2 | approved, not builtupdated Jun 2024 | Oct 2023 | granted Apr 2024 | Jun 2024 | Midlothian | 5.9 |
| Sainsburys Supermarket, Straiton Mainsrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.6 | application submitted may be out of dateupdated Aug 2023 | Aug 2023 | — | Aug 2023 | Midlothian | 6.8 |
Distance from the average position of the EH26 postcodes, not from your home. Projects of 5 MW and more have their own page with dates and planning history.
By type
| Type | All | Pending | Approved | Operational | Refused | MW in pipeline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar farm | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3.7 |
| Rooftop solar | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 |
| Wind farm | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Battery storage | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 200 |
MW in pipeline: pending, approved and under-construction capacity.
Offshore wind farms within 40 km
| Wind farm | MW | Status (REPD) | km |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forthwind | 20 | approved, not builtupdated Aug 2023 | 38.4 |
| Levenmouth demonstration turbine (Fife Energy Park) | 7 | operationalupdated Nov 2018 | 39.9 |
Operational, approved and pending offshore wind farms; distance from the district centre to the REPD grid reference of each wind farm (one point per site, so the nearest turbines can be closer or further). All offshore wind farms in UK waters.
How Midlothian decides solar, wind and battery applications
| Applications | Midlothian | UK |
|---|---|---|
| Decided applications (solar, wind, battery) | 11 | 10,236 |
| Refused | 4 (36%) | 19% |
| Solar refused | 0 of 7 | 12% |
| Onshore wind refused | 4 of 4 | 45% |
| Median time from submission to decision | 45.4 weeks | 17.0 weeks |
| Appeals lodged / allowed | 1 / 0 | — |
Is the status up to date?
32% of applications still shown as pending in REPD were submitted more than two years ago, and only 37% of pending records were updated in the last 12 months, so some of them may already have been decided. Near EH26, 3 projects have a status that may be out of date (pending for over two years, or approved with a permission expiry date already passed). Check the council's planning register for the latest decision.