Barco received no response to his towering windmill.

Kortrijk – The West Flemish photo technology company Barco has lost its environmental permit to build wind turbines on its business premises in Kortrijk. This was announced by the Board of Permit Disputes. Some companies and residents nearby have appealed. The legal decision does not necessarily mean the end of the story, reports the Belga news agency. Although Barco has been campaigning to build its own wind turbines on its site for 15 years.

It is a 180-metre-high wind turbine with a capacity of 4.5 megawatts. The company received an environmental permit from the Flemish government in May last year. But now this permit has been revoked. The locals have taken the case to court.

The Permit Disputes Board finds that the Flemish government has not sufficiently justified why the wind turbines are allowed on the site. One criticism is that the Flemish government has not carefully investigated whether the wind turbines are environmentally friendly, and the board supports this argument. According to the board, it is also not clear whether the mandatory buffer zone has been fully implemented.

Barco originally wanted to build a large solar park on its site, but this was rejected due to the significant impact it would have on the landscape. That’s why the company has decided to apply for permission to build a wind turbine on its site in order to provide its own energy, Belga news agency reported.