Two North Sea German islands Thursday lost a court bid to prevent the building of giant wind turbines off their coastlines.
The islands of Wangerooge and Borkum had sought to keep the future windparks, with towers rising 90 metres (295 feet) above the sea, out of their backyard. They argued that tourists might be put off by the view and that ships colliding with the windmills could cause huge oil spills.
But a court in the northern German city of Oldenburg ruled that construction of the windparks at sea — 13 to 15 kilometres (eight to nine miles) away from the islands — did not interfere with their communal rights.
The windparks, due to go on stream next year, comprise a total of 62 wind energy turbines.
The German League for the Defence of Nature and the Environment (BUND) has also gone to court in a bid to stop the windmills, which it says will kill seabirds.
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