2023-06-11 21:08:37
A wind farm planned in the municipality of Gaal in Upper Styria initially failed due to resistance from the local population. A survey of the residents initiated by the mayor of the municipality, Friedrich Fledl (ÖVP), resulted in a clear rejection on Sunday. 71.85 percent of the valid votes were for “No”, while 28.15 percent voted for the construction of eight wind power plants on the Brandkuppe.
Voter turnout was 77.24 percent. Three of the 852 votes cast were invalid. The result was communicated to the APA by Mayor Fledl by telephone. Fledl spoke of a “clear result”, both in terms of the distribution of votes and the high level of participation in the survey. As announced, the municipal council will stick to the result in its decision and will not make the change to the zoning plan that would have been necessary for the approval of the construction project.
According to the operator of the planned wind farm, Verbund, the eight wind turbines should have generated electricity for 30,000 households. In advance, the company had promised the locals in the neighboring community of Gaal a permanent electricity price discount of 50 percent. A citizens’ initiative had campaigned once morest the project.
In a reaction to the result of the referendum in Gaal, the chairwoman of the Styrian Greens, Sandra Krautwashl, criticized the “half-hearted energy policy” of the Styrian state government in a broadcast on Sunday. The people in Gaal were “left alone with their decision” and neglected to communicate the advantages of the wind farm. The state government must finally “get the critics of projects with renewable energies on board”.
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