In autumn 2023, Tønder Municipality, as the first municipality in Denmark, held two orientations referendums about solar and wind farms. Both votes ended with a majority yes.

"It showed that people actually want this if you have a proper process and listen to them," says mayor of Tønder Municipality Jørgen Popp Petersen.

According to him, new tools are needed, such as indicative referenda when renewable energy installations are to be planned. He tells about this at the conference on 27 November 'When the citizens say yes to more clean energy in the local community'.

He refers to the fact that virtually no wind turbines have been set up in recent years, and that this is mainly due to municipal councils around the country saying no due to, among other things, protests from the local population.

"We have been in trouble, also in Tønder. With several wind turbine projects, we have stumbled upon the decisive decision itself. The projects had a political majority along the way, but when it came to voting, it could not be mobilized. We have also chosen to say no to projects because we do not want to be the cause of civil war in the local community. Because why would you even want to," he says.

So a different approach was needed. When the 31 members of the municipal council sat down at the beginning of a new council term, they made a decision.

"If we had continued on the same track, we would probably have ended up in the same place again. So that's why we agreed to try something new. We made a compromise with a series of guidelines, which 29 members of the municipal council supported, where we have to test some unconventional new tools. And one of them is to hold some indicative referendums," he says and continues:

"The referendums have worked flawlessly and without problems. I don't think it's a tool we should use in municipal politics in general – it's an experiment. In the end, of course, it is the municipal council that is responsible and must make some decisions, sometimes even against the will of some citizens. And regardless of whether we reach 100 percent support in a local area, on the evening the local council has to decide on a project, there will still be a lot of people standing outside the city council hall and making a spectacle".

At least 40 percent local ownership

Tønder Municipality is particularly known for having strongly called for energy developers to offer at least 40 percent shares for sale in the local area.

"Our approach in Tønder is that those who are at a disadvantage must at least also have a significant part of the advantages that the project brings with it. Therefore, local ownership is absolutely essential. When we look south over to Schleswig-Holstein in Germany, there are hundreds of wind turbines, and they are all citizen-owned. It gives acceptance, and it gives the local economy," says Jørgen Popp Petersen.  

Until 2020, the so-called buyer's rights scheme was in force. According to it, 20 percent of an energy plant should be offered as shares. But the scheme was criticised, i.a. because it did not always succeed in getting it sold to locals. In the event that this should happen in Tønder, the municipality has set up a municipal renewable energy company that can step in and buy the shares.

“We try to keep as much as possible in local hands. When we have to make room for energy, it shouldn't be investors who are far away, who run away with the whole cake. We have also set up a non-profit association that covers the entire municipality, and which investors can also finance. Because we are doing ourselves a disservice if it is just the individual parish that gets 110 extra shelters and gold plating on the council house, because they just got an energy park standing there. We will have to look at development in the entire area.” 

"It may sound harsh to investors, but we have a society that must function. If we continue as we have done so far, it will be a no from the local community. At the same time, the state comes and wants to build energy parks, and if you want to expropriate and dictate, then first and last it gives a spectacle. So it really depends on how we approach the situation.”

Tønder Municipality has 21 projects in the planning process, and they consist of 105 wind turbines and 1600 ha of solar cells.

"We are close to the finish line with the first projects, and we believe we have reasonably good public support," says Jørgen Popp Petersen.

This article is part of our project 'Yes in my backyard', where we focus on how people help drive the green transition in their local communities.

Regarding the satellite photo: You can find documentation at Skråfoto here..

Political guidelines for the approach to renewable energy plants

The municipal board in Tønder has adopted some political guidelines with, among other things, wishes and transparent offers to and from project owners and investors.

• 40 percent local ownership is offered at cost under the original buyer's arrangement
• Municipally owned VE Selskab (for possible redemption of the 40 percent)
• Economic contribution to the local area
• Financial contribution to a non-profit foundation
• Indicative referendum (electronic) in the last two weeks of the planning process (2500 meters distance to Windmills and 1250 meters to solar parks)
• Max 125 wind turbines and 1600 Ha solar parks in this election period.
• Max size of approx. 200 ha for the individual solar cell project and preferably located on low-lying land and extensive agricultural areas.
• Establishment of a green business park.

Good advice from Jørgen Popp Petersen, mayor of Tønder Municipality

• Ensure a political process with, if possible, cross-party agreement on the approach to new installations with renewable energy. When the politicians do not discuss and fight each other about the way forward, it also provides security among local citizens.
• Local ownership is important both for local businesses and citizens.
• The experiment with indicative referendums is, among other things, also to counter the usual signature collections, which can seem very provocative, because neighbors often do not want to take a public side for either wing.