13 Oct 2026
A group from the South of Scotland Community Councils’ Convention will meet Scottish Borders Council this week to discuss wasted wind power and industrialisation of the countryside.
The meeting comes as the number of wind turbines either operational or planned in the region now exceeds 1,000 with 30 windfarms currently operational, three more under construction and a further 21 in the pipeline. In addition there are at least 10 Battery Energy Storage Sites proposed, some with a footprint of 24 hectares or more, plus the associated high-voltage pylon lines and new substations.
Bob Hope, Chair of the South of Scotland Community Councils’ Convention said: “The onslaught of major energy developments in the Scottish Borders is relentless. The Scottish Government is pursuing its net zero agenda, without any plan for how much power is needed, how it can be used and how much it costs. Local communities in the Scottish Borders feel betrayed. They are surrounded on all sides by vast windfarms and battery compounds despite the fact that we already have far more energy in Scotland than we can use. Worse still, we can’t export this power to the rest of the UK because the grid can’t handle it. We are spending public money just to have the turbines turned off, it is madness.”
The community group stresses that it has huge sympathy for Scottish Borders Council, which has been overwhelmed with energy applications from developers keen to reap the benefits of a very generous subsidy scheme and 40-year contracts offering guaranteed minimum pricing. In some instances, developments which have been rejected by SBC are then approved by the Energy Consents Unit, flouting local democracy.
Bob Hope continued: “The Council is doing a good job and is evaluating applications properly, despite the overwhelming amount of work required. The Scottish government set up the energy consents unit to facilitate faster approvals for major generation schemes but we still haven’t had a strategic energy plan and we still don’t have an economic impact assessment. Meanwhile our local tourism businesses are suffering and our heritage and landscapes are being ruined. The Scottish government talks about empowering local communities but when it comes to the crunch they don’t want to know.”
In the Scottish Borders 21 community councils have signed the Unified Statement, calling for a pause on further energy developments until a strategic plan for energy is in place and there is a full economic impact assessment for major energy projects. Across Scotland, more than 200 community councils have joined the movement.