Government approval for a controversial wind farm in the Scottish Borders has been overturned, ending a long-running dispute over the project’s legality and environmental assessment.
On 18 February 2026, three appeal judges at Scotland’s Court of Session ruled that planning consent for Energiekontor UK Ltd’s proposed wind farm near Heriot, in the Moorfoot Hills south of Edinburgh, had been granted through flawed legal procedures.
The project, involving eight 150‑metre turbines with a combined output of 36 MW, was initially approved in January 2025 by a Scottish Government reporter, despite Scottish Borders Council having rejected the application three times since 2020.
Raeburn Farm, which borders the proposed site, challenged the government’s decision, arguing that the reporter failed to properly consider whether the wind farm and its grid connection should be treated as a single project under environmental law.
Delivering the court’s opinion, Lady Wise said the original approval contained “material errors” because the environmental impact assessment did not evaluate the potential combined effects of the turbines and the grid link. The judges ordered that the case be reconsidered by a different reporter.
The council’s initial refusals were based on what it described as “unacceptable significant adverse impacts on the landscape.” Energiekontor later amended its design by relocating turbines and increasing their height from 130 m to 150 m before resubmitting the scheme in 2024.
The ruling means the developer must now restart part of the planning process, leaving the future of the Moorfoot Hills wind farm uncertain.
