Belgian Council of State scraps Dalhem wind turbines for Einstein Telescope

On Wednesday 29 March, the Belgian Council of State scrapped the permit for six wind turbines yet to be built in the Walloon municipality of Dalhem. That municipality lies in the search and protection area where the Einstein Telescope could be built.

Objections to the proposed construction had been lodged by the Flemish government, the Flemish municipality of Voeren and the University of Liège, among others, seeking to prevent additional ground noise due to new wind turbines. This is undesirable for the Einstein Telescope plans. The telescope works optimally when the soil is as noise-free as possible.

Late last year, for the same reason, the Provincial Council of the Dutch province of Limburg almost unanimously agreed to the proposal not to allow any wind turbine initiatives in the Dutch search and protection area of the Einstein Telescope.