Czech referendum on wind turbine in Těchařovice invalid due to low turnout

Today’s referendum on the construction and operation of a wind turbine in Těchařovice in the Příbram region is invalid, as too few voters took part. Voter turnout was 32.56 percent, while the law requires 35 percent. Of the 43 voters, 14 cast a valid ballot, with 11 of them voting against the construction of the turbine. This follows from information on the municipality’s official noticeboard.

According to Mayor Vanda Bělinová (SOCDEM), this does not mean anything fundamental for the municipality. “The referendum was intended more as a kind of safeguard, because a number of municipalities in the area have gone through this, but it certainly does not mean that anything will be built here,” Bělinová told CTK.

As in other nearby municipalities, the company PRE is interested in building the project in the village. Bělinová previously told CTK that the municipality has not signed any agreement with the investor and that the initiative to hold the referendum came from residents.

Voters in Třebíz in the Kladno region, as well as in Milín, Pečice, Starosedlský Hrádek and Vrančice in the Příbram region, also rejected the construction of wind turbines in referendums this year. Votes were held last year in Mšecké Žehrovice and Krakov in the Rakovník region and in Řisuty in the Kladno region. In Krakov, residents approved the construction, while in the other two municipalities they rejected it.

There is currently only one wind farm in the Central Bohemian Region, near Pchery in the Kladno region. It consists of two turbines with a total capacity of six megawatts and has been in operation since 2008.