Green light for Dutch onshore wind farm Goyerbrug

Goyerbrug Wind Farm near the Dutch town Houten has received green light, following a ruling today by the Administrative Law Division of the Council of State to upheld the environmental permit.

Initiator Windpark Goyerbrug B.V. wants to develop four wind turbines of maximum 166 metres with a maximum combined capacity of 24 MW in a line arrangement south of the Amsterdam-Rijnkanaal, near the Goyerbrug in Houten.

Objections

Several foundations and local residents are against the arrival of the wind farm and have raised many objections. For instance, they fear noise nuisance, shadow nuisance, horizon pollution and damage to scenic values and nature. The initiators had also appealed to the Administrative Law Division.

In the permit, Houten’s municipal executive stipulated, among other things, that no cast shadow from the wind turbines should occur on homes. If cast shadow is likely to occur, a so-called turn-off time of three minutes will apply to the wind turbines. In response to objections, the board indicated at the court hearing in October 2024 that it should be added to this regulation that the turn-off time should not exceed one hour per year per dwelling. On this point, the foundation and several other objectors were vindicated. The Administrative Law Division ruled all other objections, including from the initiators themselves, unfounded.

Permit amended

Because objectors could agree with the addition to the rule on cast shadow proposed by the municipal executive, the Administrative Law Division itself amended the rule on cast shadow. With that, the licence with the amended rule became final.

Long process

The Goyerbrug Wind Farm has a long history. The Houten municipal executive granted the first environmental permit for the wind farm as early as 2019. In late July 2021, the Administrative Law Division annulled this permit, because the municipal executive had applied the national wind turbine standards from the Activities Decree and the Activities Regulation. But those standards were no longer to be used as a result of a ruling by the Administrative Law Division on 30 June 2021. Pending new national standards, governments were temporarily allowed to set their own standards on, for example, noise, cast shadow and wind turbine safety. In late 2022, the college granted a new environmental permit for Windpark Goyerbrug that included such own standards. Source: Raad van State

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