In almost all other municipalities in Zeeland, farmers have been allowed to install a wind turbine on their property for some time. But this often involves a maximum of one wind turbine. Kees Steendijk from Kamperland is happy with his copy. “I don’t think it will harm the landscape,” he says. “It’s just a small thing, you actually look around it.”
In Zeeland, these types of wind turbines may be a maximum of 21 meters high. The province has determined that. Because wind turbines have become more expensive in recent years and the payback period has therefore become longer, the farmers’ interest group, ZLTO, believes that farmers should be able to install larger wind turbines. “It makes a difference whether a windmill is 21 or thirty meters, because then the efficiency increases. You hardly see that difference, an average poplar is also thirty meters.”
“Because we want to be careful with the Veerse landscape, we have set up a number of conditions and restrictions,” says Veerse councilor René de Visser. “It is only for agricultural companies. It is not allowed everywhere, it is not allowed on the coast.” The councilor does not want to know anything about taller wind turbines or the installation of wind turbines at other companies such as campsites for the time being. “But maybe it’s a matter of getting used to it. Maybe once they’re there we’ll say: it’s not that bad.”
Only farmers are allowed to install wind turbines. “The agricultural sector is having a hard time,” says De Visser. “We want to facilitate them in their business operations. The sector needs a helping hand.” According to De Visser, the windmills are only for own use and are not intended to supply electricity back to the grid.
