Residents of Czech Starosedlský Hrádek reject wind farm construction in referendum

Residents of Starosedlský Hrádek in the Příbram area rejected the siting of wind turbines in the municipality in a referendum on Saturday. Of the 83 voters, 71 opposed the development, 11 supported it and one vote was invalid. Turnout reached 68,6 percent of the municipality's 121 eligible voters. The referendum is therefore valid and its result binding, according to information on the municipality's website. According to Mayor Rudolf Šimek (independent), this means the project will not go ahead in the municipality.

"The referendum result was quite clear. People here do not want three relatively tall turbines in the cadastral area, and even the amount of money offered by the investor did not persuade them," Šimek told ČTK today.

PRE had planned to build up to three 250-metre wind turbines in Starosedlský Hrádek, which would have brought the municipality more than 75 million crowns over 25 years. Local residents could also have benefited from cheaper electricity.

According to Šimek, some people saw the plan as an opportunity for the municipality, but most voters considered it would be a major intrusion into the landscape. Critics also pointed out that ponds inhabited by rare bird species are located nearby. "I was in favour of letting people decide for themselves, as this is essentially a historic event," the mayor said.

He himself saw the project as an opportunity for investment, as the municipality of 130 residents has been in debt for several years due to the construction of a sewerage system. On the other hand, he believed that construction of the turbines would ultimately not have been possible anyway because of the presence of protected bird species. It is not the only wind power project being considered in the Příbram area. Others could be built in Višňová, Pečice or Stěžov.

According to the Chamber of Renewable Energy Sources and the Czech Wind Energy Association, the number of wind power referend held in Czechia in recent months has been record-breaking. Last year, they were held in 24 municipalities, with residents in 18 of them voting during the autumn parliamentary elections. Four of last year's referendums took place in the Central Bohemian Region: in Mšecké Žehrovice and Krakov in the Rakovník area, and Řisuty and Uhy in the Kladno area. While residents of Řisuty and Mšecké Žehrovice rejected wind turbines, those in Krakov and Uhy supported their construction.

"Over the long term, nearly half of referendums have resulted in support for wind turbines. Turbines are more often supported in referendums in municipalities where people already have them nearby and have experience with them," said Štěpán Chalupa, chairman of the Chamber of Renewable Energy Sources.

Central Bohemia currently has only one wind power plant, near Pchery in the Kladno area. It consists of two turbines with a combined capacity of six megawatts and has been in operation since 2008.