Menhartice council in Czechia cancels wind farm referendum after pressure from neighboring municipalities

At an extraordinary meeting, council members in Menhartice in the Třebíč region decided to cancel today's referendum on building a wind farm within the municipality's boundaries. Information about the outcome of Thursday's council meeting has been available on the municipality's website since Friday. The referendum was cancelled due to pressure from neighboring municipalities in the microregion. The council has not yet given the precise reasons for its decision; it will share the information at a public meeting on Monday. Redwood Capital is interested in building up to five wind turbines near Menhartice and would like to sign a cooperation agreement with the municipality.

„We will share all further information about the situation at a public meeting on Monday, April 28, at 18:00 at the cultural center in Menhartice,“ the statement says.

Minutes from Thursday's extraordinary council meeting show that all seven council members who attended voted to cancel the referendum.

Wind turbines would bring financial benefits to both the municipality and its residents, Mayor Pavel Leitkep (independent) previously told the Czech News Agency, without giving details. Even if the referendum result allows it, however, it is not certain whether the turbines near Menhartice will be built, as the investor still faces further permitting procedures. The plans concern privately owned land.

Menhartice, a municipality with 113 voters, is about four kilometers from the town of Jemnice. According to its published budget, the municipality has planned spending of 4.3 million crowns this year.

Recently, a number of municipalities in the Vysočina region have received offers from investors to cooperate on wind turbine projects. Some have already signed cooperation agreements, while residents in others have rejected wind turbines in local referendums. Last year, this happened in Počátky in the Pelhřimov region, Jamné in the Jihlava region and Dalečín in the Žďár region. By contrast, residents of Sazomín in the Žďár region voted in a local referendum two years ago to support further discussions on building up to three wind turbines within their municipality.