Znojmo wants to decide on wind turbines based on expert assessments

Znojmo has commissioned a study assessing the landscape character of the Znojmo region, excluding Moravský Krumlov and its surroundings. It is intended to serve as an expert basis for negotiations with investors on the construction of wind turbines. According to Znojmo deputy mayor Jiří Kacetl (Pro Znojmo), decisions on projects with a fundamental impact on the landscape must be based on expert assessments, he told ČTK.

"Landscape character is protected by law, and the landscape is a collective asset and shared wealth. It is surely not enough for investors to select an available plot, secure a grid connection and promise the local mayor a few crowns for the municipal budget," Kacetl said.

Most recently, an investor's proposal sparked a dispute among residents of Lukov, located on the border of Podyjí National Park. In a December referendum, residents ultimately rejected the construction of the turbines by a clear margin.

The study builds on a document that Znojmo had already had available since 2008 and confirmed its findings at the time. "That is, that the entire western and central parts of the Znojmo region have preserved landscape character protected by law. We have the unique Podyjí National Park here, as well as wine-growing hills, panoramas of historic towns and villages, the valleys of the Dyje River and its tributaries, castles, chateaux, woodlands dating back to the Middle Ages, and open agricultural countryside," Kacetl said. By contrast, the study identified the farmland landscape in the eastern part of the Znojmo region, from Hevlín in the south to Miroslav in the north, as an area without significant landscape value, where wind turbines can be built subject to various conditions.

According to Kacetl, wind turbines, especially the 250-metre-high ones that some investors want to build, significantly undermine the area's appeal to tourists. "We are glad for the industry that remains here, but tourism in particular could grow in the future. We have a heritage that we must value. People from industrial areas come here to see something different from what they have at home," Kacetl said. He noted that not only the Znojmo region has already suffered from the construction of energy infrastructure linked to the Dukovany nuclear power plant. "We can see it in plain view from many places," Kacetl said.

Znojmo sent the study to the regional authority as a basis for future decision-making. "The city will use the study as a basis when assessing specific proposals, in negotiations with investors and when preparing spatial planning documents. The study is not intended to replace individual administrative proceedings, but it gives the city and municipalities in the area an expert basis for decision-making," Kacetl said.