19 Mar 2025
A new wind farm development is due to be submitted for scoping to the Scottish Government which will be known as Longmuir Renewable Energy & Biodiversity Project. It will be located near Oxton in the Scottish Borders.
It is believed that this is the third time this site has been selected by developers. This is the same site as Rowntree – a 21-turbine project which was refused by Energy Minister Fergus Ewing in May 2014. This decision came after a public local inquiry which was triggered after Scottish Borders Council objected to the plans and was ultimately refused due to “unacceptable environmental impacts to people living in the area".
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Following this, RWE Innogy UK then submitted scoping plans to Scottish Borders Council in March 2015 for a wind farm of up to 11 turbines in the same location, known as Longmuir Rigg wind farm, but the application didn’t develop further.
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The scale, number and location of turbines, solar photovoltaics and energy storage units is still to be determined. The developer is still to conduct site surveys, environmental and technical assessments, as well as review stakeholder input and feedback from local residents and the wider community.
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If you are interested in learning more, the developer, Galileo, will be holding their first round of public consultation events on the following dates:
·       Fountainhall Village Hotel – Tuesday 1 April, 2pm-5.30pm
·       Lauder Scout Hall – Wednesday 2 April, 2pm-6pm
·       Stow Town Hall – Thursday 3 April, 3pm-7pm
The developer is also expected to share some more information at the Heriot Community Council meeting on Wednesday 2 April (more information on their meetings can be found here). This is a public meeting and attendance is encouraged.
Borders Wind Farm Watch will share updates on this development as the scoping application develops.
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