In recent months, protests against the construction of wind farms have been multiplying across Poland. From Pomerania to Podkarpacie, local residents have been blocking roads, collecting signatures, and organizing meetings, warning that investments in huge turbines mean a drop in property values and degradation of the landscape.
The paradox is that precisely at the moment when public opposition to wind turbines is reaching an unprecedented scale, Donald Tusk’s government is pushing forward legal solutions that will significantly facilitate the construction of wind farms in Poland. The amendment to the so-called Wind Turbine Act includes, among other things, easing location requirements for turbines, reducing the minimum distance from residential buildings to just 500 meters, simplifying procedures, and granting greater freedom of action to wind farm developers.
Gawłowski – the “Godfather” of Liberalization
A key figure in this process has been Senator Stanisław Gawłowski, former secretary general of Civic Platform (PO) and chairman of the Senate Climate Committee. Although less than a month ago the District Court sentenced him to five years in prison in the high-profile “land reclamation scandal”, for corruption, disclosure of classified information, and plagiarism, his amendments to the Wind Turbine Act passed through the Senate with the support of the December 13 coalition.
Gawłowski’s amendments were adopted on July 17 this year despite opposition from Law and Justice (PiS) senators. He was supported by Waldemar Pawlak from the Polish People’s Party (PSL), who now speaks of Poland’s strategic security and independence from Russia thanks to renewable energy, though it was he who in 2010 signed an unfavorable gas contract with Gazprom.
Government Pushes, President Resists
After passing in the Senate, the amendment landed on President Karol Nawrocki’s desk. Donald Tusk has made no secret of his wish for the bill to be signed quickly, arguing that “renewable energy is the cheapest” and that the changes will bring Poles lower energy bills. The president, however, responds that electricity bills are not the most important issue in this law, but rather the interests of wind farm developers. “The prime minister and the parliamentary majority want to blackmail not so much the president himself, but Poles, by forcing wind turbines closer to their homes,” he said on Polsat News.
Public Unrest Versus Political Lobbying
Behind the political dispute lies genuine discontent among residents of many regions. In Piaski, in the Lublin region, hundreds of people blocked national road no. 17 in protest against the construction of more than 20 turbines. In Nowe Miasteczko, Lubusz region, hundreds of signatures were collected under a petition opposing the project. In Stary Dzików, Podkarpacie, 1,651 residents signed a notarial protest. In Gryfice, residents marched under the slogan “Wind turbines don’t spin me,” while in the municipality of Zagrodno, more than 400 people demanded that the authorities abandon the investment.