Jihlava - The regional authorities have been opposing the plan to build two more wind-farms in Vysočina region. They fear that the facilities would harm the landscape and make the region less attractive for tourists.

The investor, Project International company from Prague, had planned to build three windmills with total wattage of 6 megawatts near Čachotín municipality and five windmills with total wattage of 10 megawatts near Opatov municipality.

The investor had to change the locality because of prevalent fears that the windmills would present a danger for air-traffic. Because of that the company promised to pay rent to the owners of the land as well as to the municipality.

Concerns about landscape

However, the study about the effect on the environment has showed that the wind-farms would significantly affect the landscape and may possibly decrease the numbers of tourists that are attracted to the region by its rural scenery.

"Vysočina's landscape is highly valued in the region," spokeswoman of the Vysočina region Eva Neuwirthová said, adding that the facilities may become a problem after their operating lifetime is over.

The area also prides itself with birds and protected nature areas near Opatov and Čachotín. These could be at risk with the turbines standing nearby.

Nonetheless, Mayor of Opatov municipality thinks the opposite. "We have agreed to build the wind-farms four years ago. At the moment we are assessing the possible impact on the environment. However the opinion of the municipality remains the same. We support the wind-farms," mayor of Opatov František Šenekl told for Aktuálně.cz.

The wind-farms project is not included in the energy concept of the Vysočina region whose authorities rejected the plan of ČEZ energy giant to build a wind-farm in the region.

Last year, wind-energy facilities produced 125 gigawatt-hours of energy, with the Vysočina region contributing with one tenth of the total production. There are five windmills near Pavlov and Kámen municipalities.