Residents of Mirovice in South Bohemia Reject Wind Farm Project

Residents of the town of Mirovice and surrounding villages in the Písek region (South Bohemia) have voted against plans to build wind turbines in a local referendum. The vote covered the cadastral areas of Mirovice, Bošice, Ohaří, Touškov, Kakovice, Rásle, and Pliškovice.

A total of 1,203 people were eligible to take part in the referendum. According to the election commission, 577 ballots were cast, of which 562 were deemed valid — one voter failed to mark either of the answer options.

ČEZ's Plans and the Public Response

The proposal to build a wind farm near Mirovice and the neighboring village of Chraštice came from the company ČEZ Renewable Sources. It concerned three turbines east of the town, near Gaj hill, roughly a kilometer from the nearest housing. In exchange for hosting the turbines, Mirovice would have received a steady annual income.

Last year, the town council approved cooperation on preparing the wind farm project, but residents later collected signatures for a petition demanding a referendum — and in the vote, they rejected the construction.

Project Continues in Neighboring Village

In addition to the three turbines planned near Mirovice, three more are planned for the neighboring village of Chraštice. "There's no opposition there, no referendum, and the contracts have already been signed, so everything is moving forward as planned," said Mirovice mayor Josef Vejšický (of the "For Mirovice" movement).

Under Czech law, a referendum is considered valid if at least 35% of eligible voters take part. Its outcome becomes binding for the town council if more than half of the participants vote in favor, provided that at least 25% of all eligible voters supported the decision.

Not the First Rejection

Two years ago, Mirovice residents already rejected, in a referendum, plans by the company ib vogt Czech to build a 27-hectare solar power plant near the village of Touškov. At that time, 477 people took part in the vote — 39.52% of eligible voters.

Of those, 429 voted against the project, 43 voted in favor, one abstained, and four ballots were invalidated. Residents were concerned about falling property values, damage to the local landscape, and increased humidity.

Source: novinky.cz