Solar, wind and battery projects near Alness (IV17)
12 solar, wind or battery projects of 150 kW or more are recorded within 10 km of the centre of IV17 (Highland): 2 are waiting for a planning decision, 5 approved but not yet running, 3 operational. The largest live scheme is Drumore Cottage, Swordale (49.9 MW battery storage, approved on 10 December 2024, not yet built), 9.0 km away. Source: Renewable Energy Planning Database, July 2026 extract.
Projects within 10 km of IV17
Projects of 1 MW and more (7)
| Project | Type | MW | Status (REPD) | Submitted | Decision | Record updated | Council | km |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Smithybattery storage | battery storage | 45 | approved, not builtupdated Mar 2025 | Jan 2024 | granted Jan 2025 | Mar 2025 | Highland | 1.6 |
| Strathrory Wind Farmwind farm | wind farm | 36 | approved, not builtupdated Mar 2023 | Mar 2020 | granted Jan 2022 | Mar 2023 | Highland | 7.7 |
| Torr Leathann, Ardross Wind Farmwind farm | wind farm | 36 | refusedupdated Jun 2022 | Jun 2022 | refused Nov 2022 | Jun 2022 | Highland | 8.0 |
| Torr Leathann, Ardrossbattery storage | battery storage | 5 | refusedupdated Jun 2022 | Jun 2022 | refused Nov 2022 | Jun 2022 | Highland | 8.0 |
| Drumore Cottage, Swordalebattery storage | battery storage | 49.9 | approved, not builtupdated Jan 2025 | Jun 2023 | granted Dec 2024 | Jan 2025 | Highland | 9.0 |
| Beinn Tharsuinn Extension (Beinn nan Oighrean)wind farm | wind farm | 4.6 | operationalupdated Apr 2018 | Jan 2007 | granted Dec 2008 | Apr 2018 | Highland | 10.0 |
| Bendealt Wind Farm, Highlandwind farm | wind farm | 9 | operationalupdated Apr 2011 | May 1995 | granted Aug 1996 | Apr 2011 | Highland | 10.0 |
Smaller schemes under 1 MW, mostly rooftop solar (5)
| Project | Type | MW | Status (REPD) | Submitted | Decision | Record updated | Council | km |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alness Academysolar farm | solar farm | 0.5 | under constructionupdated Feb 2020 | Jan 2019 | granted Mar 2019 | Feb 2020 | Highland | 0.7 |
| Creachan Wind Farm & BESSwind farm | wind farm | — | application submittedupdated Apr 2026 | Feb 2026 | — | Apr 2026 | Highland | 0.8 |
| Creachan Wind Farm & BESSbattery storage | battery storage | — | application submittedupdated Apr 2026 | Feb 2026 | — | Apr 2026 | Highland | 0.8 |
| Invergordon Academysolar farm | solar farm | 0.2 | operationalupdated Nov 2019 | Jan 2019 | granted Feb 2019 | Nov 2019 | Highland | 5.5 |
| Strathrory Wind Farmbattery storage | battery storage | — | approved, not builtupdated Mar 2023 | Mar 2020 | granted Jan 2022 | Mar 2023 | Highland | 8.0 |
Distance from the average position of the IV17 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 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.5 |
| Wind farm | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 36 |
| Battery storage | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 94.9 |
MW in pipeline: pending, approved and under-construction capacity.
How Highland decides solar, wind and battery applications
| Applications | Highland | UK |
|---|---|---|
| Decided applications (solar, wind, battery) | 160 | 10,236 |
| Refused | 68 (42%) | 19% |
| Solar refused | 0 of 15 | 12% |
| Onshore wind refused | 61 of 114 | 45% |
| Battery storage refused | 7 of 31 | 16% |
| Median time from submission to decision | 52.3 weeks | 17.0 weeks |
| Appeals lodged / allowed | 20 / 20 | — |
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. Check the council's planning register for the latest decision.