Nearly 200 activists attended a protest in Amsterdam against the arrival of huge wind turbines near homes and nature. Initiator Windalarm collected 20,000 signatures in the capital and presented them to the city council, along with a number of other working groups from across the country.
The working groups oppose several municipalities’ plans to install giant wind turbines near residential and natural areas. They fear the consequences for public health, such as stress and insomnia due to the annoying noise of the turbines.
After the petition was submitted, activists headed to Dam Square, where they raised a 500-meter-long banner accompanied by the sounds of large windmills.
There is not enough research
An activist in Dam Square says he is not opposed to the windmills in principle. “There are plans to place them about four hundred meters from our house. In Europe there are different standards for distance, there are ten times the height of the summit of a windmill. That would be difficult in the Netherlands, but maybe we have to come to the conclusion that the Netherlands is not suitable for onshore wind turbines.”
Protesters marched from Dam Square to Westerpark. There, a Punic activist talks about plans for wind turbines in her municipality, where a number of alleged research areas have been identified. “Windmills in a built-up area are a very bad idea. Not enough research has been done yet on the impacts on public health, flora and fauna. If they have to be built, then at sea.”
At the end of May, the Amsterdam Council will make a decision on the location of the windmills. In the climate agreement, it was agreed that thirty regions in the Netherlands would develop a regional energy strategy, within which they would define research areas. These areas are eligible for wind and solar power generation. All regions must submit their plans before July 1 of this year.
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