Beuningen municipal council approved the zoning plan for the Beuningen onshore wind farm on Tuesday evening 23 November. This makes Beuningen Wind Farm one of the first wind farms in the Netherlands to be licensed on the basis of local standards.
The municipality of Beuningen aims to become carbon neutral by 2040. The construction of the five wind turbines in Beuningen (province of Gelderland) will make an essential contribution to this goal. The five turbines will be located south of the A73 motorway and west and east of the A50 and will have a maximum tip height of 245 metres. The wind farm could be operational as early as 2025.
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Permit based on local standards
When the Council of State drew a line under the national environmental standards for wind farms six months ago, the municipality of Beuningen set to work with its ‘own’ local environmental standards for noise, cast shadowing and external safety. This meant that, after a four-month delay, the plans could still be submitted to the municipal council. This makes Beuningen Wind Farm one of the first wind farms in the Netherlands to be licensed on the basis of local standards.
The wind farm is an initiative of energy cooperative EnergieVoorVier (50%), Eneco (25%) and Falck Renewables, through their Dutch subsidiary, Falck Renewables Nederland BV, (25%). For Falck Renewables it is the first project in the Netherlands.
With the council decision, the initiators can continue with the development of the wind farm, such as applying for subsidy from the Sustainable Energy Production and Climate Transition Incentives Scheme (SDE++).
Local involvement
The project has a strong focus on community engagement, with 50% owned by local energy cooperative EnergieVoorVier. Residents of Beuningen and surrounding villages who are members of the cooperative will be able to invest in the wind farm and directly benefit from the value created through the production of clean energy. Part of the proceeds of the plant will be allocated to an area fund. The fund will support environmental initiatives proposed by the local community. Payments relating to the rights of use for the land will be shared among landowners and local residents.
Consultation period
The amended zoning plan and the council decision will be available for public consultation for the next six weeks. During this consultation period, interested parties can lodge an appeal with the Council of State. Because this is a so-called ‘coordinated procedure’, an appeal may also be lodged against the environmental permit. This will be issued by the municipality after adoption of the zoning plan.
If an appeal is lodged, the Council of State will issue a final judgement on whether the (investigation) procedures were followed correctly and whether the municipal executive could reasonably decide to amend the zoning plan. If the Council of State gives a positive ruling, the amended zoning plan and the related environmental permit will become irrevocable. An irrevocable environmental permit is a precondition for the construction of a wind farm. Source: Falck Renewables
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Preliminary draft zoning plan and EIA report for Beuningen Wind Farm available for consultation