Renewable Energy Systems, commonly known as RES, has announced plans for a brand-new wind farm and energy storage facility in the Scottish Borders.
RES was an early player in the renewable energy industry in the UK, having developed its first wind farm in Cornwall way back in 1992. Since then its portfolio has grown significantly across the globe, with the firm now eager to build a new wind farm 9 km north of Lauder in the Scottish Borders.
While the new wind farm, dubbed Longcroft, is still in the early stages, the firm is holding two public exhibitions in the local area next week to enable people to learn more about the project, discuss any questions with the project team, and provide feedback on the initial design.
Those attending the exhibitions will also get an early look at visualisations of the new wind farm, which should help give an impression on what impact the wind farm will have on the current site design.
Gavin Shirley, Development Project Manager at RES, noted, “We look forward to speaking to people about our plans for Longcroft Wind Farm. We welcome constructive feedback on the layout and delivery of the project which has the potential to change and influence the design.
“In addition to people’s comments on the proposal itself, we would also like to hear ideas for how the wind farm could help to secure other long-term economic, social and environmental benefits during its operation. This would help us to deliver a tailored community benefits package aligned with the communities’ priorities. This could include RES’ Local Electricity Discount Scheme which offers an annual discount to the electricity bills of those properties closest to the wind farm.”
The wind farm proposal first became public in March 2023 when RES submitted a Scoping Report to the Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit seeking feedback from key consultees on the proposed scope of environmental work. If consented, RES says that Longcroft Wind Farm would be capable of generating enough clean, low-cost electricity to meet the annual demand of around 110,000 homes and is predicted to deliver approximately £5.8 million of inward investment into the area in the form of jobs, employment, and the use of local services.
However, onshore wind has not been without its controversy – with it constantly facing opposition from Westminster. Thankfully for RES, the Scottish Government looks at the technology more favourably, with the company having developed or constructed 21 wind farms in Scotland alone, with a total generation capacity of 597 MW.