The area around Lild Strand was on its way to being incorporated into Nature Park Thy – but with the expansion of Testcenter Østerild, it seems hopeless. It is otherwise something that Anne-Mette Kristensen has been working towards in her spare time together with her husband, who is an engineer. She herself is a quality coordinator and board member of the Hawboernes Forening. It is an association that has brought together a well-functioning small local community in Lild Strand.
- There is a strong social cohesion and community here. We have 190 members, and there are 35 permanent residents in addition to 200 summer houses here, says Anne-Mette Kristensen.
With the decision to expand Testcenter Østerild, the five planned giant turbines of 450 meters will move close to the area, and this will have consequences.
- The entire area is an EU dune reserve, Natura 2000 and parts have been declared nature worthy of conservation. One of the new test sites would be located above the cemetery at Hjartemål Klit Church. For the sake of peace, the windmill field will be rotated by eight degrees. So that the windmill is not directly above the cemetery, explains Anne-Mette Kristensen and elaborates:
- But then we will have it all very close to Lild Strand. The noise is thrown here, because that is the prevailing wind direction. The sun's path will cause shadows to cast from sunrise to sunset.
Unique nature and Denmark's deepest night darkness
Anne-Mette Kristensen has no doubt about what is at stake when the large test windmills arrive.
- We have a very special location, authenticity and tranquility. You can walk completely undisturbed for three to four hours to Viksø, she explains.
The area has also achieved a coveted certification as Dark Sky Park Bulbjerg. It is a certification that only exists in 22 places in Europe and 119 places worldwide, and it is something that Anne-Mette Kristensen has some of the credit for.
- My husband and I have done the entire application. It is such a hobby, she says about something that has borne fruit:
- We have documentation of having Denmark's deepest night darkness.
But all that is now in danger of disappearing.
- The area will be destroyed forever by the giant turbines. It will also be an impossible task to clean up after it, notes Anne-Mette Kristensen.
Her husband is in the so-called 'Møllegruppe' - which is part of the 'Association against large wind turbines at Bulbjerg and Vigsø Bay'. The research has been thorough - Anne-Mette Kristensen knows the exact details of how much will be left in nature when the test turbines are one day removed.
- They only have to remove the one-meter turbine foundation, the rest of the concrete and steel reinforcement will remain. It is an industrial area that is coming.
The social contract has been broken
This is also due to the fact that the general mood is now turning against the politicians at Christiansborg, who made the decision. And the resistance includes resourceful citizens who can express their anger.
- We think that the social contract has been broken. It is no longer politicians' anger. It is social anger, and that is the general mood among our 190 members. You can't trust laws and nature protection anymore, and we in Denmark are already at the bottom of the EU's list of nature, explains Anne-Mette Kristensen and adds:
- We often hear German tourists say: "Imagine this still exists". There is a quiet haven of nature here that is on the way to being destroyed.
She doesn't believe that environmental studies will be able to stop the upcoming expansion. And the responsible minister, Minister of Churches, Minister of Urban and Rural Areas and Minister of Nordic Affairs Morten Dahlin (V), she has no confidence in.
- We call him the Minister of the Windmill Industry, says Anne-Mette Kristensen, who after a hastily convened citizens' meeting can state:
- The greatest benefit of the citizens' meeting was probably that Morten Dahlin had to answer questions for four and a half hours instead of the planned two hours for the meeting, which was convened with only two days' notice.
Answer from the Ministry
DOI.dk has presented the criticism of the Ministry of Urban, Rural and Church Affairs in this article, which has come up with the following answer.
- The agreement group (Government (S, V and M), SF, LA, DF, K and RV) behind the political agreement on Good framework conditions for testing prototype and series 0 wind turbines has decided on 1 February 2024 to initiate an environmental and habitat impact assessment of a possible expansion and adaptation of the Østerild Test Center in Thisted Municipality. The environmental and habitat impact assessment must identify the consequences that an expansion and adaptation will have for the environment, nature, landscape and local population, etc. The agreement group agrees that first and foremost, mitigation measures must be taken to minimize the impact on nature as much as possible. In addition, measures must be taken to replace the nature that may be negatively affected by the possible expansion of the test center.
Why the citizens' meeting was called with just two days' notice, it continues.
- The citizens' meeting was announced in the immediate aftermath of the agreement group having made a decision. In the further process, information and dialogue with citizens and local communities have high priority. The Planning and Rural Development Agency has made direct contact with the homeowners in the area who will be affected by the possible demolition of homes. In addition, the agency has invited affected citizens to information meetings about what the process entails for the individual. A public meeting will also be held on the environmental assessment process, where all interested parties have the opportunity to provide input and suggestions for what should be investigated.
The ministry has not provided a personal statement from the minister, who has in the meantime gone on maternity leave.
Text, graphics, images, sound, and other content on this website are protected under copyright law. DK Medier reserves all rights to the content, including the right to exploit the content for the purpose of text and data mining, cf. Section 11b of the Copyright Act and Article 4 of the DSM Directive.
Customers with IP agreements/major customer agreements may only share Danish Offshore Industry articles internally for the purpose of handling specific cases. Sharing in connection with specific cases refers to journaling, archiving, or similar uses.
Customers with a personal subscription/login may not share Danish Offshore Industry articles with individuals who do not themselves have a personal subscription to Danish Offshore Industry.
Any deviation from the above requires written consent from DK Medier.
