Liberec Region seeks full EIA for Ralsko wind farm in Czechia

Liberec Region is calling for a full environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the planned construction of wind turbines in Ralsko, in the Česká Lípa area. ČEZ PV & Wind plans to build a wind farm with total installed capacity of up to 115 megawatts (MW) in the former military training area. The EIA process is being handled by the Liberec Regional Authority, which has received around 160 submissions on the project. The authority’s spokesperson, Filip Trdla, told the Czech News Agency (ČTK) today.

"As a region, we are not in a position to approve or reject the project; that decision is in the hands of the regional authority. It is important to distinguish between regional self-government and state administration. In this case, the assessment is the responsibility of the regional authority, not us as the region’s self-governing body," said Jiří Klápště (Spolu), deputy governor for the environment.

However, he said, the region is aware of the potential impact of such a large project on residents and the surrounding landscape, and is therefore calling for a thorough assessment of the construction’s impact on this valuable site.

The Ralsko project envisages the construction of 16 wind turbines with a total height of up to 250 metres, including towers up to 166 metres tall and rotors with a diameter of up to 163 metres, in the Svébořice and Náhlov areas. Each turbine is expected to have a capacity of between 5,56 and 7,2 MW, bringing the wind farm’s total installed capacity to between 88,96 and 115,2 megawatts. Once completed, the entire wind farm could generate as much electricity annually as would otherwise be produced by burning around 200.000 tonnes of brown coal. ČEZ already operates solar power plants at five sites in the area, with total capacity of 56 MW.

Comments on the project were also submitted by the Klenice branch of the Czech Union for Nature Conservation, based in neighbouring Central Bohemia. "The area has high natural value and forms part of a wider landscape mosaic that would be significantly affected by the construction of a wind farm of this size," said Milada Vrbová, chair of the Klenice branch. The organisation is also calling for the investor to incorporate the comments into the EIA documentation and for all significant environmental impacts to be assessed—from effects on the character of the landscape and nature conservation to potential impacts on the local area and beyond.

"The Czech Republic has committed to addressing its electricity sources sustainably in some way, and unfortunately we cannot do without wind power. However, given the scale of this particular project, all impacts on health, the landscape and the surrounding area need to be assessed appropriately, so that negative impacts can be minimised," Klápště said.

Liberec Region also has energy plans for the area: it wants to build a solar power plant with capacity of up to 100 MW at the former Hradčany airfield.

Liberec Region has two decades of experience with wind power. Its oldest project comprises two municipal wind turbines in Jindřichovice pod Smrkem, connected to the grid in 2003. The region ranks third in Czechia by number of wind turbines, with 31 towers at seven sites around Hrádek nad Nisou and in the Frýdlant area. According to the Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ), installations with total installed capacity of 49 megawatts supplied almost 111 gigawatt-hours of electricity to the grid last year.

The largest wind farm in the region to date is operated by JRD Group in Hrádek nad Nisou. It has 13 turbines with installed capacity of more than 26 MW, and the company plans to add another six. W.E.B Větrná energie plans to build seven turbines in the Dolní Řasnice and Krásný Les areas of the Liberec region. The construction of another turbine is being considered in Jindřichovice pod Smrkem, with a decision to be made in a referendum. Beneš Energo plans to build a turbine in Košťálov in the Semily area, and construction of turbines is also being discussed in Brniště and neighbouring municipalities in the Česká Lípa area.