13 Jan 2026
A public inquiry has opened into yet another large-scale renewable development proposed for the Scottish Borders – this time a proposed energy park near Duns.
The developer wants to install six 200 metre wind turbines at Lees Hill Renewable Energy Park (to the west of the town) almost 70 hectares (100 football pitches) of reflective solar panels, a battery storage system made of large containers holding batteries, an onsite substation and temporary construction compounds.
Scottish Borders Council (SBC) has officially opposed the plans over a range of issues, including the impact on the Lammermuir Hills, which triggered the inquiry.
Evidence sessions at Duns Parish Church Hall are set to run until Friday, and following the inquiry the Scottish Government will ultimately determine the outcome of the project.
Many local residents have voiced their concerns about plans. Key issues include:
The MoD has objected on grounds of aircraft safety and radar clutter
There is a major gas pipeline running through the site, however battery farms are accompanied by significant risks of combustion
Scotland already produces much more wind energy than it can consume
The developer, Fred Olsen Renewables, acknowledge that the benefit to the Borders and Scottish economies is “negligible”
There are already 360 turbines in the area, the tallest of these is 145 metres (compared to 200m proposed, or almost 40% taller)
Most of the existing turbines in the area, like Black Hill, are much more constrained by the natural landscape
The “community benefit” (claimed to be £7 million over its operational lifetime) is based on figures that are 11 years old – £5000MW/turbine, plus £500/MW for the solar array. Nothing for the battery storage.
Paul Whitfield from campaign group Dun Lees Hill Save Our Skyline (SOS), said on ITV Border yesterday: “The scale of the turbines at 200 metres is significantly greater than anything else that’s around in the Borders, and will be viewable from all directions into Duns, from Wales to England, and as you enter the Lammermuirs they’ll be a dominating feature as you enter this part of the world.”
The inquiry’s opening comes at a time when communities across the Borders are already feeling saturated with applications for wind farms, solar fields and related infrastructure. Local residents note that each project is assessed in isolation, allowing developers to claim minimal impact, while the combined effect is transforming the countryside at speed.
These talking points are now familiar to many across the region, where developers routinely make similar promises of economic and environmental gain – however such benefits are often overstated, arrive only decades down the line and do little to offset the permanent industrialisation of rural landscapes.
These concerns are likely to take centre stage at a summit in Jedburgh Town Hall this Saturday, where dozens of community councils and campaign groups will gather to push back against what further renewables development.
As the inquiry moves forward, questions intensify about who truly benefits, who shoulders the long-term impacts, and whether current planning processes are fit for purpose in the face of escalating commercial pressure on rural Scotland.
The report on ITV Border can be found here: https://www.itv.com/watch/news/catch-up-on-itv-news-lookaround-from-monday-12th-january/47tff6g?utm_source=chatgpt.com
The first day of the inquiry can be watched here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIjn3zWZWbg
Day two is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PIdARvS9Co