Residents of Josefov in Czechia to decide on wind turbine construction on Saturday

Residents of Josefov in the Sokolov region will decide in a referendum on Saturday whether they want wind turbines built within the municipality’s cadastral area. Meridian Nová energie s. r. o. wants to build two turbines in the municipality. With around 400 residents, the municipality would receive a one-off payment and a regular annual contribution to its budget from the company. If residents reject the construction, Josefov would have to postpone planned, more costly investments, the municipality’s mayor, Jan Onak (independent), told the Czech News Agency today.

„The sites have been set since the beginning of the negotiations. They are about one kilometre from the nearest house, in the direction of Krajková. They are agricultural plots owned by Agro&Kombinát Dolní Žandov, with which the investor has agreed to lease the land,“ Onak said.

The investor wants to build two wind turbines near Josefov, each with a total height of almost 250 metres and a capacity of 6.2 MW.

Josefov is a municipality made up of several settlements. In addition to Josefov itself, it includes Luh nad Svatavou, Hřebeny and Radvanov. The municipality is planning, among other things, to build sewers in the settlements. It also needs a pavement along the main road and has other development plans. But with an annual budget of around seven million crowns, Mayor Onak said, Josefov cannot afford the more costly investments or even the required co-financing. The lack of sewers, for example, and the need to have septic tanks emptied regularly would also affect residents themselves.

There are already wind turbines around Josefov, and the village has a direct view of the wind farm near Jindřichovice. Meridian Nová energie is also planning to build turbines in neighbouring Krajková.

The investor has promised the municipality a one-off payment of two million crowns and annual payments of 1.2 to 1.4 million crowns, adjusted for inflation. It could also install photovoltaic panels on all municipal buildings, which would bring the municipality further savings.

The referendum question is relatively general and reads: „Do you agree that wind turbines should be built and operated in the municipality of Josefov, in the cadastral area of Luh nad Svatavou or the cadastral area of Radvanov?“. The municipal council has pledged to respect residents’ views if the referendum is valid. Under the law, a vote on the same issue could then be held again only after two years.

The referendum will take place on Saturday from 10:00 to 22:00, with voting at the local community centre.