Schriftelijke bijdrage mw. Wolf inzake inspreekavond DC Programma Windenergie 2030

The plan to place wind turbines in Amsterdam Zuidoost is unacceptable to residents for the following reasons; Parks and nature reserves are important for physical and mental health: walking, cycling, meeting each other, exercising, barbecuing, to relax and de-stress (many residents of Zuidoost experience stress due to financial and other problems). This positive effect of parks and nature is disrupted by wind turbines. 2. Destruction of nature Although the location of Weesperkarspel falls outside the NNN area, all construction works will have to go through the NNN area which will cause its destruction. Permanent roads for maintenance work will need to be built and this will also cause destruction of nature that cannot be mitigated. The same objections apply for the location Holendrecht/Hoge Dijk. The climate crisis is foremost a biodiversity crisis, and these plans negatively affect the biodiversity. It is illogical to say that mitigation actions will be taken to compensate for nature lost by putting it somewhere else, the fact is, we need to conserve nature where it currently is now! 3. Health risks because the proposed locations are too close to houses/schools/hospitals. I do not feel the research that concluded on suitable locations is unbiased.

The gemeente wants to put wind turbines within the city limits and therefore all research has focused on providing arguments that will allow this. The only way this could be done was to choose for the sound norms. The sound norms are a yearly average. This means that it is impossible to actually enforce the norms because the measurement is after the fact . That means that throughout the year, there can be days or weeks on end when the sound levels are much higher than the maximum norm of 42lden and 39lden. But taken over time, the statistics will say ‘’it is within the norms’’. In addition, the Environment Agency, which is responsible for monitoring noise agreements, has had too few staff for years and the staff shortage is increasing. It is therefore unlikely that supervision (government task) can be carried out properly in the coming years. Once windturbines are built, negative effects cannot effectively be mitigated as this would conflict with their purpose, to produce as much electricity as possible. There is no effective action that can be taken that resolves the complaints whilst balancing the requirement for a return on investment. The decision to choose for sound norms was not taken with the health of residents as the first priority. The first priority was to ensure that they could be placed within Amsterdam.

The advisors van Van Bosch en Van Rijn used a model from the GGD. In the meantime, the GGD has advised NOT to use the model because it is no longer suitable. Quote ‘’Het instrument GES sluit niet meer aan bij de verbrede invulling die we als GGD’en aan de gezonde leefomgeving geven.’’ (https://ggdghor.nl/actueel-bericht/ggd-trekt-instrument-gezondheid-effect-screening-terug/) The analysis of Bosch en van Rijn was done with theoretical models, therefore they cannot guarantee the results. Nowhere in the Netherlands or Europe are there examples of such large wind turbines (above 200m) so close to houses (350m). The gemeente has a duty of care that if there is a

chance that harm will be caused, they are obliged to be cautious. At the very least the gemeente should implement a minimum distance of 1000m from the closest houses, hospitals, schools etc. The stadsdeelcommissie Zuidoost and the bestuurscommissie Weesp have given this advice to the gemeente and have communicated this to provincie Noord Holland. Although the negative impacts on physical and mental health of low frequency sound have not yet been scientifically confirmed (and this is the reason given for not considering it in the research), it is acknowledged that there is the potential that it can have negative health effects. In addition, PWA 2030, page 55, acknowledges that tonal sounds produced by wind turbines can cause negative impacts BUT since there is no national regulation (langelijke geluidnormen), this negative effect cannot currently be taken into consideration. For this reason, Amsterdam gemeente should fall back on its duty of care and not proceed with placing wind turbines so close to houses. Because once the national regulation for noise levels is completed, it is likely that these turbines will fail to meet these standards.

And then what? Dismantle the wind turbines and lose millions in investment? The evidence is so clear that even doctors have raised the alarm and stated that the government is underestimating the negative impact of windturbines so close to houses. (https://www.windwiki.nl/). Doctors are advising a distance of 4x the tip height and 10x the mast height and a maximum of 20db in the bedroom. It is therefore irresponsible for the gemeente to continue to consider the locations in Amsterdam Zuidoost as potential options. It is completely irresponsible because the number of homes and residents in Zuidoost will increase sharply in the coming years, while the lifespan of a wind turbine is 15 to 25 years. A placement decision now applies for decades and the consequences will therefore affect more and more park and nature visitors. 4. Do not need to put more wind turbines on land as the goal can be achieved by putting them all in the harbour/sea. Updated research has shown that we can reach out goals without the need for more wind turbines on land. https://nlvow.nl/actueel/update-realisatie-doelstelling-duurzame-elektriciteit-2030-2050. In 2031 TU university says that we will have reached our targets. But Amsterdam municipality wants to exceed these targets and has turned an ambition into a hard requirement. 5.

There is no support base! Residents of the Geindriedorp voted 86% against the plan in the Hoofdstructuur referendum, one of the reasons is it allows the gemeente the possibility to place wind turbines in protect natural areas if they deem it necessary. The petition against placing wind turbines in Amsterdam Zuidoost has been signed over 3000x (as per July 15th). There is no support for placing wind turbines in Amsterdam Zuidoost because they are too close to our houses and to the many residential care

centres in Holendrecht and Gaasperplas and will have a negative impact on our important natural and recreational areas. https://petities.nl/petitions/plaats-geen-windturbines-in-amsterdam-zuidoost-in-het-groen-en-inhet-geingebied?locale=nl. It is not accurate to say there is more support from the wider community in Amsterdam Zuidoost. I was at the ‘’Money Tree’’ information event at the energy hub at Kraaiennest on July 3rd that was focused on telling people about the options of community ownership and investment in wind turbines. Most of the community had no idea about the proposed locations or the plan. The first information event in English was about participation in energy cooperatives. Emphasizing and promoting potential financial gain first, before providing any other information makes the municipality come across in a manipulative light. This has given a bad impression about the motivation and tactics of the gemeente to the residents of Zuidoost who have been following the proposal for a long time. In conclusion, what a citizen expects from the municipality is a balanced consideration, in this situation the energy transition (focused on wind energy), the health of residents and the strengthening of (endangered) nature and biodiversity.

The Plan MER makes it clear that the municipality is primarily concerned with wind energy, even at the expense of the health of residents and nature. I am not against the energy transition, I think it is a critical issue and I personally do my best (solar panels, insulation, vegetarian etc etc). However, our community insists that solutions do not come at the cost of our health and the health of our nature. Suggestion: Fully utilize the harbour. Wait for the new geluidnormen before placing any more turbines on land. Although this may take some time, this is a global crisis that needs long-term solutions and cannot be solved in Amsterdam alone