Climate minister Rob Jetten (D66) was clear about this this week: more windmills must be built in Brabant. However, several local branches of his party think otherwise, according to an analysis of the voting guides by Omroep Brabant. “We are moving away from national policy, which is a well-considered choice.”
There are now almost 140 windmills in Brabant. A few dozen more are to be added in the coming years. Minister Rob Jetten (D66) spoke about it in Geffen on Monday. “You don’t have to like it, but it is necessary,” said Jetten. At least six local branches of his party see it differently.
Not all departments mention wind energy in their party programme. But in the voting guides, where the theme almost always recurs, D66 does not always appear. For example, D66 Eersel summarizes its position as follows: ‘No windmills in Eersel!’
Little wind in Bernheze
And that while there is no doubt about it at D66 in The Hague: “Large-scale solar and wind projects on land are important”, according to the party program. “We are encouraging the development of large wind farms.”
It is different locally and not just in Eersel. D66 in Veldhoven, for example, mentions the noise nuisance from windmills as a reason to oppose. Windmills would also ‘not suit Veldhoven’. One factor for Bernheze is that the wind would not blow so hard in the municipality and the mills would therefore yield less. According to the voting guide, D66 is also not in favor of windmills in Steenbergen, Waalre and Breda. Bart Lauwen of D66 Breda contradicts this: “We are in favor of windmills, but it is not an issue here. Those voting indicators are often incorrect.”
‘Nature is a victim’
“The reason that we are moving away from the national policy has been a well-considered choice,” says party chairman Tim Huisman of D66 Steenbergen. There are already windmills in Steenbergen and that would cause a lot of nuisance to local residents. According to Huisman, nature is also a ‘victim’ of the mills, while the landowners have the benefits. Is this what they mean by NIMBY, Not in my back yard? Huisman: “That’s right, I won’t deny that.”
The national division of D66 says that the resistance is no surprise: “Departments are about their own election program, we are such a party. It would be rather strange if everyone wanted windmills,” said a spokesperson. Just like the local departments, D66 continues to advocate windmills in no one’s backyard: offshore wind farms remain a wish for the future.