Wind farms evoke mixed response  

Credit:  New Poland Express, www.newpolandexpress.pl 29 October 2010 ~~

The news that approximately 800 wind turbines are to be built for use in the Mazurian Lake District has been met with mixed reactions.

Around PLN 6 bln is to be invested in wind farms in the Warmian-Mazurian region alone according to figures put forward by the Institute for Renewable Energy, which will in turn help raise funds for local councils.

One council in particular, the council of Ketrzyn (which is home to the WWII Wolf’s Lair) looks set to pull in somewhere in the region of PLN 2 mln from property taxes from the site of 35 wind turbines – around 30 percent of the entire local budget.

“Thanks to the income the project will generate, we will be able to undertake many infrastructure investments,” said Roman Rosicki from the Ketrzyn council speaking to daily Rzeczpospolita.

But residents and ecologists have already started to state their case prior to the construction, claiming that the farms will create noise, are ugly on the eye and will disturb local wildlife.

“Only smaller turbines should be constructed in such cases,” says Rafal Kubalski of the Sadyba Association, a local institute that aims to protect the Mazurian cultural landscape. “Larger wind farms should be constructed on industrial and degraded sites.”