Solar, wind and battery projects near Lybster (KW3)
14 solar, wind or battery projects of 150 kW or more are recorded within 10 km of the centre of KW3 (Highland): 4 are waiting for a planning decision, 2 approved but not yet running, 3 operational. The largest live scheme is Golticlay Wind Farm (72.6 MW wind farm, under construction since 1 July 2025), 5.3 km away. Offshore, 3 wind farms are recorded within 40 km; the nearest is Beatrice Demonstrator (10 MW, operational), 23.7 km away. Source: Renewable Energy Planning Database, July 2026 extract.
Projects within 10 km of KW3
Projects of 1 MW and more (10)
| Project | Type | MW | Status (REPD) | Submitted | Decision | Record updated | Council | km |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forse Wind Farmwind farm | wind farm | 60 | abandonedupdated Sep 2018 | — | — | Sep 2018 | Highland | 3.1 |
| Golticlay Wind Farmwind farm | wind farm | 72.6 | under constructionupdated Feb 2026 | Oct 2016 | granted Mar 2021 | Feb 2026 | Highland | 5.3 |
| Golticlay Wind Farm 2wind farm | wind farm | 13.2 | no application requiredupdated Feb 2026 | — | — | Feb 2026 | Highland | 5.3 |
| Rumster Forest Community Wind Farmwind farm | wind farm | 2.7 | abandonedupdated Aug 2016 | Dec 2011 | granted Aug 2015 | Aug 2016 | Highland | 6.4 |
| Burn of Whilkwind farm | wind farm | 22.5 | operationalupdated Nov 2015 | Feb 2007 | granted Mar 2011 | Nov 2015 | Highland | 7.2 |
| Hill Of Lynchrobbie, Dunbeathwind farm | wind farm | 7.2 | application submittedupdated Feb 2025 | Feb 2025 | — | Feb 2025 | Highland | 7.8 |
| Hill Of Lynchrobbie, Dunbeathbattery storage | battery storage | 5 | application submittedupdated Feb 2025 | Feb 2025 | — | Feb 2025 | Highland | 8.7 |
| Upper Smerral Wind Clusterwind farm | wind farm | 2.7 | refusedupdated Sep 2014 | Sep 2013 | refused May 2014 | Sep 2014 | Highland | 8.9 |
| Hill Of Lychrobbiewind farm | wind farm | 2.4 | permission expiredupdated Jun 2020 | Nov 2013 | granted Jan 2017 | Jun 2020 | Highland | 9.0 |
| Boulfruichwind farm | wind farm | 13 | operationalupdated Oct 2009 | Sep 2001 | granted May 2002 | Oct 2009 | Highland | 9.5 |
Smaller schemes under 1 MW, mostly rooftop solar (4)
| Project | Type | MW | Status (REPD) | Submitted | Decision | Record updated | Council | km |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Clyth Farm, Occumsterwind turbine | wind turbine | 0.2 | approved, not builtupdated Oct 2023 | May 2023 | granted Oct 2023 | Oct 2023 | Highland | 1.9 |
| Wind Farm at 2040m Ne/O Bulreanrobwind farm | wind farm | — | application submittedupdated Jan 2026 | Dec 2025 | — | Jan 2026 | Highland | 2.2 |
| Golticlay Wind Farm, Bulreanrobbattery storage | battery storage | — | application submittedupdated Jan 2026 | Dec 2025 | — | Jan 2026 | Highland | 2.4 |
| Lower Rumster wind turbinewind farm | wind farm | 0.2 | operationalupdated May 2022 | Jul 2020 | granted Oct 2020 | May 2022 | Highland | 3.3 |
Distance from the average position of the KW3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind farm | 11 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 79.8 |
| Wind turbine | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 |
| Battery storage | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
MW in pipeline: pending, approved and under-construction capacity.
Offshore wind farms within 40 km
| Wind farm | MW | Status (REPD) | km |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beatrice Demonstrator | 10 | operationalupdated May 2017 | 23.7 |
| Moray West Offshore Wind Farm Project | 882 | operationalupdated May 2026 | 26.4 |
| Beatrice | 588 | operationalupdated May 2019 | 31.0 |
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 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.