Bel Coster Wind Farm: Appeal Upheld

Federal Supreme Court declares land use plan invalid

The «Bel Coster» wind farm project in the Vaud Jura must be revised.

The Federal Supreme Court has declared the inter-municipal partial land use plan invalid. It is demanding additional studies on the possible impacts on the environment.

In a ruling published on 20.3.2024, the Federal Supreme Court upheld the appeal of several associations, including Helvetia Nostra, as well as the municipality of Jougne (F) and three private individuals. The partial land use plan adopted in 2018 by the municipalities of L’Abergement, Ballaigues and Lignerolle was declared null and void, as were the planned forest clearances and the access road provided for under this framework.

Switzerland's highest court thus ruled against the Vaud Administrative Court, which had dismissed the appeal in 2022. That instance had taken the view at the time that certain additional clarifications regarding bird protection and water protection could be carried out within the scope of the building permit procedure.

Better assessment of environmental compatibility

The federal judges referred the case back to the canton. They demanded that the project dossier be supplemented in several respects with regard to environmental compatibility. The ruling stated that the outstanding clarifications concerning water protection, migratory birds, and the distances between the breeding and display sites of the woodcock, red kite, golden eagle and eagle owl species and the planned wind turbines would need to be addressed within the framework of land use planning and not only at the building permit stage.

The Federal Court did not rule out that the results could have implications for the location or the number of wind turbines and thus the scope of electricity production. These changes could in turn influence the weighing of interests.

Wind farm of national importance

The questions relating to planning and expected electricity generation were, in the Federal Court's view, sufficiently examined. The expected total production is well above 20 gigawatt hours (GWh) per year, which means the wind farm is to be classified as a project of national importance.

Furthermore, the judges did not address the objections raised by the appellants regarding landscape and heritage protection, and considered the assessment of the risk of rotor blades of wind turbines hurling ice onto hiking trails to be sufficient.

The project «Bel Coster», backed by energy group Alpiq and three municipalities, envisages the construction of nine wind turbines measuring 210 metres in height on the Vaud Jura heights between Suchet and Mont-d’Or (F). The expected production is between 65 and 80 GWh per year.