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First wind farm in Vaud opens after years of resistance

The wind farm in Sainte-Croix
The wind farm in Sainte-Croix consists of six wind turbines, making it the second largest in Switzerland. Keystone

The canton's first wind farm was officially opened in Sainte-Croix, Vaud, on Tuesday after decades of opposition.

More than 100 guests attended a ceremony on the ridge in the Vaud Jura, where six wind turbines now stand.

The second-largest wind turbine in Switzerland after Mont-Crosin in the Bernese Jura (16 wind turbines) will go into operation in November. It will cover the annual electricity consumption of the 6100 households of Sainte-Croix and the local businesses.

The creation of the wind farm, however, was a pincer birth. It took a quarter of a century to bring this project to fruition. The first feasibility study was carried out in 1998.
Fierce opposition to the wind turbines soon arose in the region. After a legal marathon, the Federal Court gave the green light for the realization of the project in April 2021. Construction work began six months later.

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