Windmill objectors may only participate in town meetings - if they do not obstruct the council's plans.

While some communes are far ahead in setting up windmills and solar panels, the green transition is facing hardships in many other places. Often because neighbors do not feel heard and involved in the process.

In Aarhus, the construction of three windmills on the border with Syddjurs Kommune has caused discord between Aarhus Kommune on one side and Syddjurs residents on the other.

> Quote: "Sometimes it's okay to ask a few neighbors to move for the greater good. But 51. That's drastic."

> Michael Stegger Jensen, mayor, Syddjurs Kommune (A)

Also read: Map: Windmills and solar parks are spread unevenly across Denmark ()

The residents of Syddjurs criticize their neighboring commune for sidelining them. If a resident wants to ask questions about the windmill project in Aarhus Kommune's northernmost corner, Vosnæs Pynt, they must agree that the windmills will be built.

Adjust the transparency of the overlapping images. 0 means the first image is hidden and the second is fully visible. 100 means the first image is fully visible and the second is hidden. 50 means both images are partially visible and hidden. Images of the windmills taken from one place at Gammel Løgten Strand. (Photo: © NRGi, NRGI / Photo: © NRGi, NRGI)

- We're not opposing the green transition, we're opposing poor planning. And that's what Aarhus Kommune has done here.

He refers to the fact that his own council has recently approved a local plan for a solar farm with only four public comments. In total, the council has approved plans for six solar parks. Four of them have been approved.

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Expert: Locals are opponents when they're not engaged

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The residents of Havhusene are far from the first neighbors to object to what happens in their local area regarding solar and wind energy.

Especially windmill projects leave a trail of disrupted local communities and unmet climate goals in their wake.

- People often feel left out, says professor of wind and energy systems at the Technical University of Denmark, DTU, Julia Kirch Kirkegaard.

She has studied opposition to the installation of solar and wind energy for ten years now and inadequate community engagement is one of the main reasons for protests, according to her studies – "increasingly so these days," she adds.

Julia Kirch Kirkegaard

And according to Julia Kirch Kirkegaard's findings, the affected residents often have a valid sense of being left out.

- There's so much land to be disturbed to set these installations up that the installers often sit in their cars, waiting for the landowners to make a profitable deal with them, says Julia Kirch Kirkegaard and notes that it's the deals that are made in secret, without the future neighbors being informed.

Also read: Farmer has a clear view of easy income from solar cells: 'It's about running a business' ()

But would earlier involvement of residents mean that windmills and solar panels would suddenly pop up all over the Danish countryside?

In some cases yes, says Julia Kirch Kirkegaard:

- When the initiative comes from below, where people themselves are involved in defining what has value, the local population is incredibly interested in making the green transition happen. But they don't want to be sidelined and just have their pants pulled down.

> Quote: "Just because you haven't gotten your way doesn't mean you haven't been heard."

> Jakob Bundgaard, director, energy company NRGi.

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It's impossible to make all neighbors happy

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It is energy company NRGi that is erecting the three windmills at Vosnæs Pynt in collaboration with Vosnæs Gods, who own the land.

Director Jakob Bundgaard acknowledges that it's a balancing act when involving neighbors in a coming sustainable energy project.

- On the one hand, we will respect the neighbors who may have a large installation as a neighbor and involve them as early as possible. On the other hand, there's so much that can happen that it's not worth creating unnecessary unrest by being too early on that.

At the same time, it's Jakob Bundgaard's experience that it's impossible to make all neighbors happy with a technical installation as a neighbor.

- Just because you haven't gotten your way doesn't mean you haven't been heard.

According to Aarhus Kommune's plans, they are ready to adopt a local plan by autumn 2025.

It was not possible to secure an interview with the mayor for Technology and Environment in Aarhus Kommune, Nicolai Bang (K).

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