Brniště in the Česká Lípa area of Czechia receives bids from seven investors to build a wind farm

Brniště in the Česká Lípa area has received bids from seven investors to build a wind farm. Nine companies initially expressed interest, but two did not submit bids, Brniště Mayor Michal Vinš (NEZ) told CTK today. The impetus was interest from ČEZ subsidiary ČEZ Obnovitelné zdroje in building six to eight wind turbines in the area below Brnišťský hill, towards Velenice. The municipality will now take time to assess the bids, select the most advantageous ones and continue negotiations.

According to Vinš, the municipality does not want to accept the first offer, but to choose the best one. Wind turbines with 125-metre towers and rotor diameters of up to 150 metres, each with an installed capacity of five to seven megawatts, are expected to be built near the municipality. They would be more than a kilometre from the nearest house. „We have set aside some time now for everyone to assess the bids. Then we will sit down together and continue contacting the investors,“ the mayor said. According to him, the assessment team includes both supporters and opponents of the project.

The municipality had previously held a survey among residents on the proposal, with about a quarter of the 420 households taking part. More than half of respondents supported the construction, about a quarter said they would not mind it, and around five percent would support the project if they received some tangible benefit from it. Seventeen percent of those who voted were firmly opposed, while just under two percent were somewhat opposed. The mayor said residents would not miss out. „Half of the money generated by the investment will go into the municipal budget, while the other half will be distributed among Brniště residents who have a permanent residence in the municipality,“ Vinš added.

According to the website of the Czech Wind Energy Association, the Liberec Region has 31 wind turbines at seven sites in the border area of 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.

Another wind farm could be built in the Liberec Region near Frýdlant, although it will probably be smaller than originally planned by W.E.B. The company wanted to build nine wind turbines in Dolní Řasnice, Horní Řasnice and Krásný Les, but residents of Horní Řasnice rejected the construction of two of them in a referendum this January. Residents of the other two municipalities backed the proposal in referendums.

More wind turbines may also be added near Hrádek nad Nisou, where JRD Group plans to expand the wind farm near Václavice. There are currently 13 wind turbines there with a total installed capacity of 26 megawatts, making it the second-largest wind farm in the Czech Republic. Hrádek nad Nisou Mayor Josef Horinka (Hrádek potřebuje změny!) previously told CTK that any decision on expanding the farm would be made by the town council and preceded by a survey among residents.