Up to five wind turbines could be built near Strmilov in Czechia

Jipocar Power, a company based in Jihlava, wants to build up to five wind turbines more than 200 metres tall near Strmilov in the Jindřichův Hradec region. Residents are concerned about noise, falling property prices and damage to the landscape, as they said today at the company’s presentation of the project in the local cinema. The company’s representatives proposed a contract providing for an annual financial contribution to the municipal budget based on the minimum output of each wind turbine: 1,125.000 Kč per year for 25 years, the turbine’s expected lifespan. In the future, the municipality and its residents could buy the electricity generated as a secondary source of power. Councillors will assess the contract in June.

“We chose Strmilov based on three main factors. The grid connection, meaning the distributor must have spare capacity in the distribution network. There also needs to be enough wind, and it must be possible to transport the technology to the site,” Kamil Vondráček, the company’s managing director, told the Czech News Agency (ČTK). The company has identified a site in fields nearly a kilometre from the town, near the forest on the road towards Nová Olešná; a second site, also a similar distance from the town, is towards Bořetín. A single wind turbine more than 200 m tall costs around 250 million crowns.

The company has not yet built any wind turbines. It currently has wind turbine projects in the permitting process in the Vysočina region near the village of Stonařov and in Central Bohemia near Vlašim. Construction of a single wind turbine can take up to five years. Wind patterns must be measured for a year, while an environmental impact assessment (EIA) is also carried out. The construction permitting process follows, Vondráček added.

Residents are most concerned about falling property prices, damage to the landscape and a decline in the appeal of Strmilov and its surroundings. For some, the natural environment was the reason they moved to Strmilov. They also voiced concerns about negative effects on human and animal health, noise and sunlight reflecting off the turbines. Some also saw benefits, such as revenue for the municipal budget and energy self-sufficiency, according to the Czech News Agency’s findings among attendees. Around 50 people came to today’s presentation, held in a hall with a capacity of 125.

“The company has offered a cooperation agreement. The councillors will discuss it at the beginning of June,” Strmilov Mayor Martin Novák said. The municipal council has already approved the construction of three wind turbines in the area towards Česká Olešná, proposed by Meridian Nová Energie. The company is only just beginning to assess the project’s impact on the landscape.

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