We’re all for low-carbon energy, but not like this. Scottish Borders Greens fully support renewable energy and electrification. We do not support every wind farm, pylon line and battery site proposed for the Borders.
What’s happening
- Pylons. Around 60 miles of 400kV pylons, each about 47 metres (154 feet) tall, are proposed across the Borders, crossing the Ettrick, the Yarrow and the Tweed. Other lines, such as the Dun Law to Galashiels replacement, have been only partly undergrounded after local pressure.
- Wind farms. Turbines are proposed at up to 200 metres, more than twice the height of Big Ben. In Tweeddale alone, Leithenwater, Scawd Law and Cloich Forest are all in the planning system. The council objected to Scawd Law over golden eagles, turbine height and the skyline.
- Battery storage sites are being proposed on farmland around historic towns.
- Process. The council took the Ditcher Law wind farm near Lauder to court after ministers approved it before the grid connection could be assessed. The government stopped defending the case and the consent is set to be quashed.
- Community benefit is falling. Payments are typically £5,000 per megawatt a year. Peebles community council points out that even a rise to £6,000 would be a real-terms cut after inflation.
Why we object
Scotland already generates more renewable electricity than it uses. Much of this new infrastructure exists to move power out of Scotland, making money for investors and multinational companies while Borders households struggle with their energy bills. It damages landscape, wildlife and farmland, for structures with a working life of around 40 years.
There are alternatives
Local, small-scale energy is already working here: sewage heat recovery at Borders College in Galashiels, an Archimedes screw on the Ettrick at Philiphaugh, and a water-source heat pump at Wedale Bookshop in Stow.
Our position
- Local energy first. Invest in community-owned and small-scale generation, insulation and heat pumps that cut Borders bills.
- Assess cumulative impact. No more piecemeal decisions: look at turbines, pylons, substations and battery sites together.
- Underground where it matters. Cables underground through sensitive landscapes and near homes.
- Protect wildlife. No schemes that threaten golden eagles, seabirds or protected sites.
- Where schemes go ahead, communities must own a share. A real ownership stake, not a token fund. Innerleithen Community Council has already agreed to pursue shared ownership of Leithen Water alongside a community benefit fund.
- Index-linked community benefit, set by communities, not developers.
