Another week, another protest against an ill-conceived and intrusive development in one of the country’s cherished beauty spots. The last time I bemoaned the desecration of the landscape was in January, when the UK government awarded a contract to SSE Renewables for the first phase of the Berwick Bank wind factory in the Forth of Forth, which will cover an area four times the size of Edinburgh and put tens of thousands of seabirds at risk.

Prior to that I railed against Scottish Power Energy Network’s line of giant pylons planned for the Yarrow Valley as part of its Cross Border Connection project. That was a year ago but I could easily have returned to the same subject month after month, as the granting of renewable energy contracts and the building of battery storage units, electricity substations and solar factories across the country strikes dread into the hearts of those living in their shadow, and places our natural heritage under intolerable strain.

Each of the schemes that has led to protests and petitions is worthy of wider attention; and each speaks to the acute predicament we currently face, where competing interests are vying for the countryside. With some people desperate to keep our wild places unspoiled, and others eager to exploit them for profit in the name of net zero or technological progress, there is no prize for guessing which side is more likely to prevail.

Read more by Rosemary Goring

Berwick Bank: Huge offshore windfarm will kill thousands of seabirds

Any party that halts huge, foreign owned ‘green’ projects would get my vote

Foot and mouth, 25 years on: Why the trauma still matters today

Our village has no gas supply so we need oil for heating. It's not a lifestyle choice

And so, inevitably, here we are again. This time, the........

© Herald Scotland