The current wind farm in and around the Willem-Annapolder near Kapelle is being overhauled. Twelve outdated windmills are making way for eight new, larger windmills. This results in a doubling of capacity. The municipality of Kapelle has already given permission for the construction of six new mills. But for the other two, which are located along the Western Scheldt dike, the permit procedure is still ongoing – or has yet to begin.
These two windmills have a height of approximately 180 meters, calculated from the top of the blades. That is considerably higher than the current mills, which are barely 50 meters high. Concerned residents, including André Schrier on behalf of the Village Council, expressed their concerns during the city council meeting earlier this month.
The mills are located approximately 750 meters from both the village center of Schore and neighboring Hansweert. Villagers consider this distance too short and fear, among other things, noise pollution, shadow shadows and a significant impact on the quality of life in the village.
These concerns have prompted Gemeentebelang Kapelle to organize an extra consultation evening about the arrival of the two mills. Because councilor Jordy van Leeuwen has now received numerous negative reactions from Schore, and fears that these are the tip of the iceberg. “We want to talk to the residents,” he says.
If it were up to his party, there would be no wind turbines at all on the edge of the village – enough landscape has already been sacrificed to electricity pylons, mills and solar parks, according to Gemeentebelang Kapelle. “And we want to have a clear picture of the health effects.” The RIVM conducts national research into the effects of wind farms. “This result is expected in 2026, we want the council to wait until then to cooperate further with the plans.”
Councilor Siwart Mackintosh does not want to wait that long. The Zeeland Municipal Health Service is currently also conducting an investigation into the plans for the two mills near Schore. “We expect the results before the summer holidays,” says Mackintosh.
He is aware of complaints from Schore, but no complaints are known from Hansweert – municipality of Reimerswaal. “And there are also quite a lot of people in favor of the mills,” he notes.
Promoting sustainable energy is part of the policy of the municipality of Kapelle. “We have a climate task to carry out,” Mackintosh emphasizes. If it turns out that the GGD advises negatively about the two mills near Schore, Kapelle “can still make a well-considered choice about the permit,” he says. “Although it will be difficult.”
Tags: Replacing windmills meters high meters Schore fears quality life
