EDF power solutions UK has been working closely with communities around the site for over four years. Dunside wind farm will be situated on moorland approximately one kilometre east of the existing Fallago Rig wind farm, which is operated by EDF power solutions UK, enabling the use of some of the existing access and grid connection infrastructure. The wind farm is expected to generate around 91.8MW of low carbon electricity, enough to power up to 53,000* homes while supporting Scotland’s efforts to achieve net zero targets, improve energy security and reduce energy costs for consumers.
Once operational a community benefit fund of more than £450,000 per year will be established and increased annually with CPI, amounting to £11.25 million being made available to local community groups and initiatives across the Scottish Borders, over the wind farm’s operational lifetime.
During the pre-application phase of work, EDF Renewables UK commissioned detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) studies to guide the project’s design and provide an assessment of impacts to support the application. Specialists carried out a range of studies to inform the layout of the proposed wind farm. This included the input of ecologists, ornithologists, landscape architects, hydrologists, cultural heritage specialists and acousticians to provide guidance to the developing project design to ensure than impacts upon environmental, recreational and residential sensitivities can be avoided or minimised.
*Load factors based on the five-year rolling averages on unchanged configuration basis using Table 6.5 of Digest of UK Energy Statistics – latest figures as per July 2023 release.
