Farmer M. shows how close the planned pipes would be to the outdoor area for his cows.
Screenshot SRF
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A little more than two meters separate Farmer M.’s cows’ run from the street, where two 16-kilovolt lines will run in the future. These cables are part of a BKW wind farm project. The farmer, who wanted to appear anonymously on Swiss television’s “Rundschau”, expresses major concerns about the project.
He fears so-called leakage currents, uncontrollable electricity that could spread to his cowshed. In addition to this concern, he mentions other effects that he sees in connection with wind turbines: noise, ice, dead animals and insects as well as a devaluation of his property including his holiday apartment.
The opponents
The “Parc éolien de la Montagne de Tramelan” wind farm project was started 16 years ago. At the end of 2023, the Federal Court finally dismissed the complaints against the project and confirmed the building permit.
The Federal Court ruling
In a ruling at the end of November 2023, the Federal Court largely dismissed two complaints against the project. The objections concerned, among other things, noise and landscape protection, night-time light markings for aviation and the protection of bats. However, the discovery of a colony of bats around one of the planned wind turbines had no impact on the project. The Federal Court did not respond to a request to revise its judgment and last December it said “Bats are not an obstacle to a wind farm”.
The “Parc éolien de la Montagne de Tramelan” envisages the construction of seven wind turbines, five of which are in the “Prés de la Montagne” area and two in the “Montbautier” area. The project’s planned total annual output is 27 to 31 gigawatt hours (GWh), which, according to BKW, is enough to supply around 7,500 households with electricity.
Three landowners, including Farmer M., are now denying BKW the right of way for underground pipes. The electricity company then initiated expropriation proceedings. According to SRF, farmer M. and the two other landowners received a registered letter from BKW a few weeks ago.
The letter states that they could keep their land, but they would have to cede the rights of way and transit for the wind farm to BKW and the municipality of Tramelan. The opponents did not take advantage of the opportunity to have a say. Therefore the legal action is now being taken, BKW justifies this approach.
-The supporters
The municipality of Tramelan, on the other hand, is behind the project. One of the affected landowners, farmer Peter Scheidegger, also supports the construction. One of the planned wind turbines will be located on his land. In the “Rundschau” he describes the fact that he earns money with it as a “nice side effect”.
Nevertheless, he admits that there are tensions in the village: “Some people are no longer so motivated to greet people.” For Scheidegger, the money is not the deciding factor: “I support the project. I think it’s important that we produce green electricity.”
Political support
Wind power is also a national political issue. So Bauer M. finds support from Thomas Knutti, SVP National Councilor. In the autumn session, he submitted a motion against expropriation proceedings in connection with wind power projects. The Federal Council should ensure that electricity companies cannot initiate expropriation proceedings to realize wind farms.
In an interview with the “Rundschau”, Knutti criticized the fact that wind power only accounts for 1% of Switzerland’s electricity supply and advocated for the expansion of nuclear power plants instead. Martin Kohli from the Bernese Chamber of Agriculture also supports the affected farmers and describes the method of expropriation as sensitive.
Another problem for farmer M. is that he did not exercise his right to object to the building permit. Thomas Knutti shows understanding for this. He also draws attention to the problem of leakage current and says: “I was present at one of the discussions between BKW and the farmers affected.” Little understanding would have been shown for such problems.
BKW: “Open the grave, put the cable in, close the grave again”
Farmer M. sees the expropriation process as a “hammer method”. His demands were ignored by BKW. Nevertheless, he hopes for an agreement, as he says in the “Rundschau”: “BKW would only have to make a small gesture: the line would have to go down 20 meters further. Then I’ll have some peace and quiet.”
BKW defends its actions against SRF. CEO Robert Itschner emphasizes that the building permit is fixed and the turbines have already been ordered. He regrets that no agreement could be reached, but leaves some room for further negotiations: “If it’s about a shift of a few meters, you can still discuss it and we’ll definitely find a solution.”
According to Itschner, the expropriation process is a necessary means to “finally achieve a breakthrough” in important infrastructure projects. “Open the grave, put the cable in, close the grave again” is a minimal intervention, says Itschner.
