Less than 30% of respondents oppose wind farms in Brniště, Czechia

Less than 30 percent of respondents opposed the construction of wind turbines in Brniště in the Česká Lípa region, according to a poll. The project was supported by 54.2 percent of those who voted, while a further 16 percent of participants said they did not mind it, municipal office spokesman Radovan Vrátný told the Czech News Agency (ČTK) today. The municipality has been addressing the issue of building wind turbines since last spring, and with residents' support, the town hall can now continue with the project.

„We have spent more than two years working on this issue, looking into the options and trends and carefully considering all known risks. From the outset, our position was that this was going to happen one way or another, so we tried to minimise the negative impact on our residents while achieving the maximum financial return. It still stands that the municipality will share the proceeds fairly with residents, on a 50-50 basis. We are very glad that local people have backed this project, and we thank them for taking part in the poll,“ Mayor Michal Vinš (NEZ) said about the results.

Six wind turbines are planned for Brniště in the Česká Lípa region, each around 150 metres tall with an installed capacity of seven megawatts (MW). The original proposal was for 14 to 15 turbines, but the municipality rejected it. Of the more than 1,300 residents, 500 took part in the poll on the project, almost half of everyone who had reached the age of 18 and was eligible to vote. Before the poll, the municipal office held a public meeting in early May, where the mayor presented the plan and answered residents' questions together with wind energy experts.

The plan was prompted by interest from ČEZ Obnovitelné zdroje in building a wind farm in Brniště; the municipality now has five other offers on the table. The turbines would be built on the western side of the municipality below Brnišťský vrch, more than a kilometre from the nearest house. But not everyone in the municipality supports the project: residents are concerned about its impact on the landscape, noise and the so-called flicker effect, or moving shadows. „It does affect the landscape, but the benefits outweigh the drawbacks,“ Štěpán Chalupa, chairman of the Chamber of Renewable Energy Sources, said at a public discussion.

The municipality will now continue talks with potential investors, and wants to give preference to the most advantageous offer. According to Vinš, the contract should run for 25 years, the expected lifespan of a wind turbine. Compensation or a share of the profits is also envisaged for the municipality during that period. „We would welcome electricity at a lower price or even for free, but that is not possible,“ the mayor said. According to the offers, however, the municipality should receive at least eight million crowns a year in compensation. Half will be distributed among its 1,320 residents, while the rest is intended to help fund the construction of a sewer system, which Brniště currently lacks.

This is not the only project in the area: the construction of wind turbines has already been approved in neighbouring Velenice, and a wind farm is also being discussed in Zákupy. According to Velenice Mayor Petr Brůžek (Velenice společně-SNK), the municipality has a contract with ČEZ Obnovitelné zdroje. Three turbines are planned if a wind farm is also built in neighbouring Brniště. If it is not, the contract in Velenice provides for the construction of four turbines.