Brniště in Czechia launches poll on proposed wind farm

In Brniště in the Česká Lípa region, residents are discussing a plan to build six wind turbines near the village, with a private investor offering the municipality a share of the revenue. The municipality has therefore launched a poll. Residents should receive detailed information about the plan in the local newsletter delivered to their mailboxes on Friday; ballot papers will be included. The process is still at an early stage, Mayor Michal Vinš (NEZ) said on social media.

According to Vinš, the municipality is striving for maximum openness, and residents should be active participants in decision-making. „We are neither for nor against (building wind turbines); we are not approaching it ideologically, but pragmatically. When one of the investors approached us, saying that the western edge of our municipality’s territory would be suitable for building up to six wind turbines, we began looking into the details. We allowed the investor to meet with local residents at an information meeting,“ the mayor added.

Brniště’s municipal leadership contacted the Czech Wind Energy Association and applied for membership. „So that we can access expert information and avoid mistakes others have already made before us. We expect that half of the future revenue should go towards strengthening the municipal budget, while the other half should be distributed to households of residents who live here and are registered here, according to a simple and clear formula. This seems more practical to us than discussions about community energy, which sounds very modern but does not yet seem particularly feasible,“ the mayor added.

This is not the only similar project in the Liberec Region: W.E.B. Větrná energie is preparing to build a wind farm in the Frýdlant area. The plan envisaged nine wind turbines in Dolní Řasnice, Horní Řasnice and Krásný Les. However, residents of Horní Řasnice rejected the construction of two turbines in a referendum held in January alongside the presidential election. Voters in the other two municipalities backed the plan in referendums. There, too, the investor offered residents compensation based on energy purchase prices, with the municipalities themselves also set to receive a share.

Brniště, which has a population of around 1,350, is open to all parties interested in building a wind farm within the municipality, according to the mayor. „Whoever offers the municipality the best terms of cooperation will win. We would like to have clarity by the end of the year,“ Vinš added.

According to the website of the Czech Wind Energy Association, there are 31 wind turbines in the Liberec Region, at seven sites near the border in the Frýdlant spur and around Hrádek nad Nisou in the Liberec area. Last year, the installations, with a total installed capacity of more than 50 megawatts, supplied over 104 gigawatt-hours of electricity to the grid.