Giant wind turbine brings Scottish Borders town to a standstill

• Giant turbine blade transported across the Scottish Borders

The transportation of a wind turbine blade has caused significant disruption as it made it's way to a wind farm in the Scottish Borders.

The blade is the first of 21 wind turbine blades destined for the new Pines Burn Wind Farm, located south of Hawick.

The 64.8 metre turbine brought traffic to a standstill as it was transported from St Boswells before travelling through Hawick to the site, around midday on 24 October 2023. 

There was significant travel disruption to road traffic heading through the town as the route was cordoned off with limited traffic flow for hours from 11am. 

A further 21 turbine towers are expected to be transported to the site. 

The tower sections, which are between 21m and 37.4m long, have been classified as abnormal loads and must be escorted by specially trained Police Scotland officers.

The turbine blade was transported to the transition point by Selkirk Golf Course on 23 October 2023. 

Individual blades will be transported during the day while blade sets and towers will be transported from Rosyth to the site at night. 

The Pines Burn Wind Farm is located 6km southwest of Bonchester Bridge and 8km south of Hawick. 

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