New 80-turbine wind farm proposed in Scottish Borders

Plans for a new wind farm in the Scottish Borders are being submitted to the council this week

Plans are being developed for an 80-turbine wind farm in the Scottish Borders.

The farm would be spread across two commercial forestry areas in Liddesdale and the energy company behind the scheme said it could power up to 231,000 homes.

EDF Renewables UK also said it could bring hundreds of thousands of pounds in community funding to the area.

A scoping report is being submitted to Scottish Borders Council this week.

The wind farm within Wauchope Forest and Newcastleton Forest could consist of up to 80 wind turbines, battery energy storage and a solar onsite system.

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Andrew Bennett, development project manager at EDF, said that plans were at an early-stage.

"The submission of the scoping report to Scottish Borders Council is an important initial milestone for the project - allowing us to begin robust and detailed conversations with the local community on our proposal," he said.

"There will be multiple opportunities for the community to view, comment and provide feedback on the proposals as they develop."

Mr Bennett said he hoped the company could develop a proposal that would help support Scotland's renewable energy targets.

Scotland is aiming to generate half of its energy through renewable sources by 2030 and wants to be completely decarbonised by 2050.

The Scottish government recently missed its target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, in part because the power generated from renewables fell as there was less wind.