Investors plan new wind farms in northern Czechia's Olomouc region

After years of preparation, investors are planning to build several new wind turbines in the hilly northern part of the Olomouc region, where conditions are favourable for generating electricity from this renewable source. Many local governments have already signed agreements with investors and will therefore receive millions of crowns for their budgets in the coming years, as well as cheaper electricity for households. In some municipalities, however, investors’ plans are facing opposition from local residents. Planned acceleration zones are expected to speed up construction of wind farms and solar parks, including in the Olomouc Region.

Úsovsko plans to build three wind turbines in Horní Loděnice in the Olomouc region, and has already signed an agreement with the municipality. “It originally planned five wind turbines here, but in reality there are now three. Representatives of Úsovsko are still negotiating with the region, though,” Horní Loděnice Mayor Gustav Repaň told the Czech News Agency (ČTK). A wind farm with nine towers rises between Horní Loděnice and Lipina. According to the mayor, wind turbines benefit the municipality because their operation brings money into its budget. “If more investors came, we wouldn’t oppose them,” he added.

A consortium of Micronic Group and Redwood Capital is interested in neighbouring Hraničné Petrovice, where it wants to build up to six wind turbines. It has offered the municipality and its residents ten megawatt-hours of electricity per year free of charge for 25 years. A further 2.8 million crowns would go into the municipal budget each year. Hraničné Petrovice Mayor Radim Kalus told ČTK that the municipality had reached an agreement with the consortium and that experts were preparing documents for the EIA process. Two wind turbines are currently operating between the municipalities of Hraničné Petrovice and Jívová. Last year, an investor built five turbines near Jívová.

Residents of Moravský Beroun are less keen on wind turbine construction. Last year, the town held a referendum over a proposal to build 17 wind turbines, and residents voted against it. However, the vote is not binding on the town council. Moravský Beroun Mayor Jan Hicz told ČTK that a consortium of the Archbishopric of Olomouc and Micronix Group had sent the town a new proposal, reducing the number of planned turbines.

Moravský Beroun now has two offers from investors to cooperate on building wind turbines. “The offer from Micronix and the Archbishopric of Olomouc is more economically advantageous for both the town and its residents. In addition to a regular payment to the town, we negotiated a commitment to supply electricity to all connection points in our cadastral area at a significantly reduced price as part of community energy. The town council will discuss the offers at one of its upcoming meetings,” Hicz said.

The mayor said that other municipalities in the area were also negotiating with investors. For example, ČEZ wants to expand the wind farm at Stará Libavá by up to eight turbines. Construction of up to 17 towers is planned between Lomnice and Rýžoviště, with another three wind turbines expected near Břidličná and ten near Velká Štáhle. Domašov u Šternberka has also agreed to the construction of wind turbines.

More than 200 wind turbines with a total capacity of 352 MW are operating in the Czech Republic, with 45.2 MW in the Olomouc Region.