Connecting the first onshore wind farm in Scotland
Natural Power’s planning and development team played a crucial role in this landmark project. Located 8km northeast of Carsphairn, Windy Standard consisted of 36 Nordtank wind turbines, generating 21.6 MW, when it first connected in 1996. The wind farm is still operational and has since been expanded on, it now has a capacity of over 80 MW, almost triple the size of its original nameplate capacity. Natural Power has an operational hub on site and continues to provide service and maintenance support to the expanded wind farm.
Read more about Windy Standard
In the same year, Natural Power and likeminded businesses, formed Scottish Renewables. The new organisation was to help work with governments and the industry to inform the public of Scotland about the developing renewable energy industry.
The trade body is continuing its work as the voice of renewable energy in Scotland and celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2026.
Moving to a purpose-built global head office in Dumfries
The team quickly outgrew the small office they had occupied in Glasgow’s city centre and moved to the picturesque Galloway Forest Park to a purpose-built building, The Greenhouse.
Built sustainably, with most of the timber and stone used in construction being sourced from the surrounding area, the team worked with local trades to complete the building. The location is still our international headquarters and is one of five offices Natural Power has in the UK. The timeline for the build was extended as rural communities were closed down due to mad cow disease.
Introducing new services into the renewable energy industry
Natural Power continued to build and diversify its services to support the growing renewable energy industry. In 2003, the team worked on Crystal Rig Wind Farm, which was the first hydrology and ecology project; Bow Beat Wind Farm became the first project to be supported by the newly formed asset management service and Robin Rigg become the first commercial offshore wind farm to gain consent in the UK, with the help of the new offshore consenting team.
Expanding into the Welsh renewable energy industry
In 2005, turbines had grown to the size of the London Eye and average output grew to 4 MW per machine.
Natural Power continued to expand by setting up its first office in Aberystwyth in Wales, helping the growing number of schemes starting the country. The Welsh team continue to be based here, providing vital support to the growing Welsh renewable
Ventec and ZephIR join the Natural Power ecosystem
Specialising in the French industry, Ventec helped start Natural Power’s journey on the European mainland. While ZephIR, an innovative Lidar technology provider, increased Natural Power’s expertise in the pre-construction analysis and advisory services.
Ventec would later become Natural Power France. ZephIR would spin-out to become its own company, within our group, called ZX Lidars.
Natural Power reaches 100 employees as it adds new locations in North America and Europe.
The company opens its first office in the US, in Saratoga Springs, New York, to support the emerging renewable energy industry on the east coast. The same year, Natural Power increased its presence in France, opening a new construction office in Nantes.
Its office in Nantes would become its main office on the European mainland, supporting a growing contingent of renewable energy experts.
Creation of new solutions to manage operational assets.
New tools, VuWind and WindCentre, were released in Europe and North America to provide owner and operators with essential data to make sure renewable energy assets were operating effectively. They came to market as the world’s focus on renewable energy increased and owners looked to make turbines more reliable.
Supporting the growth of Ireland’s renewable industry.
Set up with support from the Irish government, Natural Power’s first Irish office was opened in Dublin, and 20 jobs were created to help advance the country’s offshore wind ambitions. This included starting work on the environmental impact assessments for Codling Wind Park, which was completed in 2024.
New offices open in the US and the UK to meet growing demand
Following its success on the east coast and the growth in demand for renewable energy consultancy services on the west coast, Natural Power opens its second office in the US on the west coast in Seattle, Washington.
Growth continued in the UK and as the team exceeded 250 employees, Natural Power needed more space to accommodate the team! It moved from a small construction office in Falkirk to a newer, larger space in Stirling and opened another new office in the North of England, near Newcastle, to be closer to the new offshore wind hubs in the North Sea.
Supporting the connection of the largest Welsh wind farm
The team in Aberystwyth supported Vattenfall in the successful consenting of the Pen Y Cymoedd wind farm, where its 76 3 MW Siemens turbines produce enough electricity to power around 15% of Welsh homes annually.
The wind farm runs a successful community fund and has invested in more than 700 projects around the local community since it first energised.
An increasing number of renewable energy assets on the UK’s grid, meant there was a requirement to keep machines running. Natural Power offered turbine servicing and maintenance to its customers for the first time, complementing its growing site management and asset management services.
Supporting Europe’s largest solar project
The Solara4 project in Portugal, was completed in 2021 and became the largest unsubsidised solar project in Europe at the time. Natural Power was proud to act as lender’s technical adviser for the financing of the project which has a capacity of 220 MW and generates enough electricity to power 200,000 homes. A year later, the ControlCentre would make another leap forward when it connected Europe’s largest battery energy storage system into its operational control system.
Read about the Solara4 project
In Ireland, the team supported Taghart Wind Farm and Millvale Solar Farm, these projects were the first projects to be energised under the Irish government’s renewable electricity support scheme (RESS-1).
New technologies are launched into the renewable market
As technology advanced, Natural Power created two new spin-out organisations to develop innovative new software solutions in the renewable energy industry.
KUDO software, the company that helped develop Natural Power’s ControlCentre, spins out to further advance its development of on-site safety operations.
EchoSense graduated as another spin-out to focus on its bat curtailment software, to help renewable energy developers and operators safeguard energy production, as global administrations look at wildlife impacts from renewable energy systems.
Welcoming an Italian consultancy to Natural Power
As Italy looked to increase its reliance on renewable energy, Natural Power acquired Rome-based consultancy Studio Rinnovabili. The unified team enables a wider range of consultancy services to European clients.
In Ireland, Natural Power expanded further with a second office opening in Castlebar, County Mayo, as the country announced policy changes to support further growth of offshore and onshore wind in the country.
Introduction of ControlCentre 3 and an improved space in Glasgow
2025 began with a move to new offices in Glasgow, the central location enabled the Natural Power team to work closer with clients and industry colleagues to further renewable energy projects globally.
Natural Power also continued to expand its ControlCentre, announcing the creation of the largest independent green energy control room in the UK. This followed a major milestone in the UK in the previous year, when the country reached 30 GW of connected wind energy.
