PLANS for a new renewable energy plant in the Scottish Borders face refusal next week over fears it could result in “unacceptable landscape and visual impacts”.
Members of the Scottish Borders Council’s Planning and Building Standards Committee will meet next Monday to discuss plans for the construction and operation of a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), in Berwickshire, which they have been recommended to reject.
The plant is set to be built on land west of Springwells Farmhouse at Greenlaw.
If the recommendation is approved, the final say on the application from The Energy Workshop will rest with the Government’s Energy Consents Unit.
The proposal offers an energy storage capacity of 340MW which allows for a significant volume of energy to be stored and deployed to meet demands of the electricity grid.
The applicants state that the development will result in saving 29,335 tonnes of carbon dioxide in its first year of operation.
It is also projected that if the development operated at capacity, it could meet the electrical demands of 33,102 domestic properties per year.
It is recognised that the ability to store this level of electricity will make an important contribution towards net zero and provide consumer benefits that are anticipated by the Scottish Government.
The applicants have sought to mitigate the impact of this large BESS array by enclosing it in landscaped bunds. The bunds vary in height and gradient with those along the southern side appearing the tallest at over 7m.
A report to be considered by committee members states: “The scale of the bunds will protrude above the otherwise gently undulating landform.
“Although the site is set back from the A697, the bunding will be visible within the surrounding landscape, particularly the local road network which includes the A697.
“The council’s landscape architect is concerned that the proposed bunds will result in noticeable change to the landscape pattern that does not relate to the sense of openness of this rural area.
“The purpose of the bunds is to aid screening, but their scale and profile will be visually stark, obvious, and prominent within the otherwise gently rolling landscape.
“These adverse impacts are not outweighed by the significant weight placed on the contribution the proposed development would make towards renewable energy generation and greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets.”
