Four projects in the villages of the wind farm area in the peat colonial part of the municipality of Aa and Hunze will together receive more than 72,000 euros. This concerns two small-scale projects in Nieuwediep, one in Gieterveen and one in Gasselternijveenschemond.
The financial support has been allocated by the Oostermoer Area Fund Foundation, which monitors the wind turbine. This is the third time that this foundation has paid out money to village initiatives.
The highest amount, almost 44,000 euros, is intended for upgrading the playground in Gasselternijveenschemond on the JH Kruitstraat. There will be a football cage and a ping-pong table in the playground.
The Ous Hoes village hall in Gieterveen will also receive a good portion of the wind turbine compensation pot this time. The village hall will receive almost 20,000 euros for installing a roof and patio doors. For Nieuwediep there is money for two small-scale village projects. More than 5,600 euros are available to refurbish the jeu de boules court behind the village hall. And for a pruning project of the pear trees along the road in Nieuwediep that is 3,250 euros.
The Oostermoer Area Fund supports plans and projects that improve the quality of life in the villages or promote sustainability. The fund is supplied with money from the municipality of Aa en Hunze, the province of Drenthe, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the De Drentse Monden Oostermoer Wind Farm (DMO), to compensate for the wind turbines in the peat colonial area. The DMO wind farm has 45 wind turbines, 22 of which are located on the territory of Aa and Hunze, the Oostermoer area.
Stichting Gebiedsfonds Oostermoer manages the money pool in Aa and Hunze and assesses the applications. A total of 1.8 million euros has been deposited into the pot. For ten years, 180,000 euros will be available every year for the villages sandwiched between the turbines. About 130,000 euros of this is intended for village and residents’ initiatives. According to secretary Kai Waterreus of the foundation, plans for the next, fourth round must be submitted before March 1 next year. It will then be announced in April which cases will receive support.