A giant German wind and solar energy company has applied for planning permission to build a 12-turbine wind farm in the Borders near Hawick.
Energiekontor – which operates from Leeds and Glasgow in the UK – had originally been looking at building 15 turbines as part of the Pines Burn project near Bonchester Bridge but has scaled down its proposals following a series of public exhibitions in the area.
Each turbine would have a generating capacity of up to 3MW and a height of 158.5 metres to blade tip. The installed capacity of the wind farm would therefore be up to 45MW. The proposed development would be operational for a 25 year period, after which after which the turbines would be removed and the site restored.
The German company Energiekontor AG has been listed on the stock market in Frankfurt since 2002. It has developed 90 wind farms in Germany, Portugal and the UK with a total capacity of 700 MW and an investment of around £750 million.