Passions boil over the fallen wind farm: local residents do not hide their fear

The causes of the incident are still being investigated, and local residents explain that power plants must be built as far as possible from residential houses. The authorities of Akmenė also protect the residents of their district. New wind power plants will not be able to sprout here, wherever the designers want, the LNK report says.

The residents of the village of Pleikiai do not like two wind power plants growing next to each other.

“I am very afraid. People said that others signed, they asked about the money, but no one even came to me, they didn’t ask me if I agreed or not,” complained a local resident.

A few years ago, the village of Kruopia was fiercely opposed to the establishment of wind turbines and demanded that they be built as far away from residential houses as possible.

I am very afraid. People said that others signed, asked for money, but no one even came to me.

“There was a lot of resistance for obvious reasons. First of all, due to vibration, sound and noise”, commented Rasa Statkuvienė, elder of Kruopia.

People were also afraid of the possible collapse of the wind farm.

Full LNK report in video:

“Sanitary protection zones (SAZ) are set very small. And sometimes even lower than the height of the wind farm. We say how in that case for the collapse do you appreciate it. It was explained to us that SAZs are not established for health reasons, but simply as a sanitary zone. He also claimed that there is no risk of collapse,” R. Statkuvienė explained.

It was explained to us that SAZs are not established for health reasons, but simply as a sanitary zone. He also said that there is no risk of collapse.

But the wind turbine that broke and fell into the forest in the Akmene district on Tuesday shows that the danger is still there.

This power plant belongs to the “Enefit Green” wind power park, which has fourteen power plants in Akmenė district alone.

“The reasons are not clear. An incident happened, the tower bent, the gondolas fell to the ground,” commented Donatas Celesius, manager of Enefit Green.

There are no victims, and it is still too early to calculate the losses.

“The area is now cordoned off for security so that no one gets hurt. Security posts have been built,” D. Celesius explained the situation.

For safety reasons, all power plants in this park are now shut down. It is not known when they will be back on, as it is unclear how long the investigation will take to determine the cause.

“There are 14 power plants in the Akmene project, they are closer to the road. Therefore, we see no reason to think that something similar could happen to other power plants”, reassured the head of Enefit Green.

The incident also worries the local authorities. Because green energy is developing very rapidly in the Akmene district.

We see no reason to think that something similar could happen to other power plants

“We should soon have about thirty wind farms. An even larger number is expected in the future. It can reach sixty or more”, said the elder of Kruopiai.

Protecting the interests and safety of the residents, the Akmene municipal council adopted a decision in favor of the people, which the designers of the new wind farms will have to take into account.

“Wind power plants must be built at a distance of 1 km from every building. We have left the right for the owners to negotiate personally with the developers”, informed Vitalijus Mitrofanov, mayor of Akmenė district.

Emphasizing the safety of residents, Enefit Green does not see threats in the future.

“These are extremely rare cases worldwide. And in Lithuania, as far as we know, this is the second such case”, said D. Celesius.

Last year, a similar incident took place in the Anykščiai district, near the village of Staškūniškis. A wind turbine has fallen in a built wind farm.

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