5 Aug 2025
Concerns are mounting once again over the relentless spread of wind farms across the Scottish Borders, as yet another large-scale development raises alarm among conservationists and local communities alike.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has issued a stark warning about the proposed Berwick Bank wind farm off the East Lothian coast, claiming it could push already-vulnerable puffin populations towards extinction. The organisation described the plans as "one of the most damaging offshore wind farms for seabirds anywhere in the world."
But while the environmental impact offshore grabs headlines, it is on land, in the Borders, where the unchecked growth of wind energy infrastructure has become a contentious issue in its own right. Hills and open landscapes once valued for their scenic and cultural importance are being transformed into industrial energy zones, often with limited local benefit.
The Borders have become something of a default location for wind farm proposals. But critics argue that the region is carrying more than its fair share of the burden in Scotland’s green energy drive. The visual and environmental impacts of dozens of turbine arrays scattered across the countryside are beginning to stir frustration among residents who feel increasingly marginalised in the decision-making process.
According to many in the Borders, the continued over proliferation of wind farms comes at the cost of ecological degradation, reduced biodiversity, and the erosion of cherished landscapes.
The RSPB’s concerns over Berwick Bank, where up to 60% of the UK’s puffin population could be impacted, reflect a wider pattern: that large-scale wind developments, whether onshore or offshore, are being greenlit despite serious questions about their
environmental consequences.
Wind energy is undeniably part of the future, but critics say the current approach which is scattergun, piecemeal, and often developer-led is neither strategic nor sustainable. For the Borders, long valued for its natural beauty and quiet character, the question now is whether the region is shaping Scotland’s green future – or simply being exploited to meet targets set elsewhere.