energy · the national build-out
Britain’s clean power build-out
Every renewable and low-carbon power project in Britain's planning database, from the Renewable Energy Planning Database. This is the build-out: what is operating, what has consent and is waiting to be built, and what is still in planning, by technology, company and nation. 58.6 GW is operational, with far more in the pipeline.
How to read this
The Renewable Energy Planning Database tracks projects above 150 kW through planning, from application to operation. It is a record of the pipeline, not a measure of electricity generated. Capacity is installed megawatts, not the power actually produced, which depends on the wind and the sun.
Every figure is computed from the published database, the Q2 2026 extract with records updated to July 2026. Project locations come from the grid reference on each record.
The pipeline
Built, being built, and waiting
58.6 GW of clean power is operating today. Another 147.0 GW already has planning consent but has not been built, the single biggest block in the pipeline, which points at grid connection and finance rather than planning as the hold-up.
The mix
What is generating now
Operational capacity by technology. It is a broad mix: onshore and offshore wind and solar lead, but battery storage, biomass, pumped storage and hydro all feature.
Across the nations
Where the operating capacity sits
Operational capacity by nation. England has the most in total; Scotland carries a large share for its size, with onshore wind to the fore.
Year by year
How fast it has been built
New operational capacity added each year. The pace has been uneven, and the recent years sit below the middle of the last decade even as the consented backlog has grown.
GW of new operational capacity added each year. 2026 is a partial year. Source: Renewable Energy Planning Database.
Who builds it
The biggest operators
The companies with the most operational capacity. A handful of large developers, several of them offshore wind specialists, account for a big share.
Close to home
The build-out in West Lothian
West Lothian has 54 projects in the database, 0.9 GW in all, of which 0.1 GW is operating. The striking local trend is battery storage: 11 of the 54 are battery projects, alongside onshore wind such as Tormywheel and Longhill Burn. The county is becoming a place where power is stored as well as made.
Questions this raises
For developers, the grid and government
- 1.
147.0 GW has consent but is not built. Is the grid connection queue, not planning, now the real constraint on clean power?
- 2.
Battery storage is the fastest-growing category, locally and nationally. Is the planning and grid system keeping pace with storage as well as generation?
- 3.
New operational capacity in recent years sits below the middle of the last decade. What would it take to build the consented pipeline out faster?
- 4.
A small number of large developers dominate. Is there room for more community and locally owned schemes?
Sources & method
Data provenance
- Renewable Energy Planning Database (DESNZ) ↗· Open Government Licence v3.0
Caveats & data notes
- The database tracks projects above 150 kW through planning. It is a pipeline record, not a measure of electricity generated.
- Capacity is installed megawatts. Actual output depends on the technology and the weather, so a megawatt of solar and a megawatt of gas are not the same in practice.
- Status reflects the latest planning stage recorded. The pipeline shifts each quarter as projects progress, are refused or are abandoned.
- West Lothian projects are identified by the county and planning authority fields.
- Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Every figure on this page traces to its official source. Share it as it stands.
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