Thursday January 22nd 2026
Mid Hill Wind Farm proposal (photo by Invenergy).
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Paul Kelly
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has raised objections to a proposed Hawick wind farm citing national security concerns, it has emerged.
Invenergy UK has submitted a planning application to Scottish government’s Energy Consents Unit for Mid Hill Wind Farm to be located north of Harwood Farmhouse, comprising of 13 turbines with blade tip heights of up to 200 metres and a capacity of around 7.2 MW each.
The energy company say that once up and running, the plant would generate enough electricity to supply about 78,018 local households annually.
But the proposals have been met with opposition, with concerns over plans for turbines to be built within a designated safeguarding zone for the UK’s seismic array monitoring station at Eskdalemuir – the UK’s only facility to detect nuclear tests carried out anywhere in the world.
Now the MoD has submitted its objection to the proposal, warning it would have “an unmanageable impact on the operation and capability of the Eskdalemuir Seismological recording station”.
This included “detrimental effects on the performance of radar systems used to manage air traffic”, as well as military training and Air Traffic Control tasks.
Current planning controls include a 10 km exclusion zone and 50 km safeguarding zone for wind turbines.
According to its objection, “there is no seismic noise capacity available” – meaning additional turbines would push the cumulative vibration levels beyond acceptable limits and compromise the station’s international monitoring role.
The MoD said proposed turbines also fall within a tactical training and low flying area which would “introduce a physical obstruction to low flying aircraft operating in the area”.
Prior to the MoD’s objection, Invenergy published an aviation and radar assessment looking into the “impact on the Eskdalemuir Seismic Array”.
The report said: “Regarding Eskdalemuir, industry-led work is progressing to update vibration limits and improve compliance frameworks. The proposed development is expected to meet these requirements, although some technical adjustments may be necessary.
“With appropriate mitigation and planning conditions, it is anticipated that the proposed development can proceed without significant adverse effects on aviation, radar or defence interests.”
An energy storage system and associated ancillary infrastructure, including foundations, crane hard-standings, substation and control building also form part of the application.
Invenergy UK expects that the project’s construction would take up to 28 months, with building works slated to begin in 2031.
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