Fred. Olsen Renewables steps back from Borders wind farm site

Leading independent renewable energy generator, Fred. Olsen Renewables, has today (25^th June) announced that it will not be progressing with the development of Hearthstanes Wind Farm, located on the Menzion area of Hearthstanes Estate, approximately 3km south of Tweedsmuir Village in the Scottish Borders.

Fred. Olsen Renewables had been engaging the local community about proposals to develop Hearthstanes Wind Farm since early 2023. The plans would have included around eight turbines up to 200m to tip, generating over 50MW of electricity and delivering almost £9m in community benefit over the project lifespan.

The developer has undertaken extensive environmental and technical assessments at the Hearthstanes site and having considered the findings of these assessments, it has confirmed that it will not be progressing with a wind farm due to the complex wind resource.

A spokesperson for Fred. Olsen Renewables commented:

“We are proud of the relationships we have formed in and around our operational and consented sites, and we pride ourselves on working in collaboration with communities and local businesses. Central to our success is also our pragmatic approach to site development and our ability to recognise what makes a good wind farm site.

“We have undertaken a vast number of environmental and technical assessments at the Hearthstanes site. The findings have revealed that there is challenging and complex wind resource on the site. This makes it unlikely that we will be able to design a project that can accommodate the turbines we expect to be readily available in the future.

“We very much appreciate the time that stakeholders and the community have taken to engage us on this project. We will continue to invest in the Scottish Borders as we focus our efforts on the delivery of Lees Hill Renewable Energy Park near Duns, Scawd Law Wind Farm outside of Walkerburn and Crystal Rig Wind Farm in the Lammermuirs.”