The Ventilus project is entering a new phase
Following the scoping memorandum (guidelines for the planning process), the preliminary draft Regional Land Use Plan (GRUP) and the final adoption of the GRUP (phases when the Flemish authorities took the lead on this project), Elia is now picking up the reins. In the next phase, feedback on the project environmental impact assessment (EIA) will be requested.
Elia submitted the project EIA to the Flemish authorities in late January 2025. This document assesses the impacts (or potential impacts) of the project on people and the environment. These are divided into various categories (impacts on the soil, water, noise, etc.). The project EIA also sets out which type of high-voltage pylon will be used and where such pylons will be erected as well as how this will be done. With a view to reducing the project's impacts, there is also a detailed description of the mitigating measures and an extensive support policy with compensation measures for those living in the immediate vicinity.
The Flemish authorities have now submitted the project EIA to various bodies (the affected municipalities, Infrabel, the Flemish Agency for Roads and Traffic, etc.) for their opinion. All these opinions will be incorporated into the scoping opinion drawn up by the Environmental Impacts team at the Flemish Department of the Environment. Based on this scoping opinion, Elia and the consulting firm Antea will start work on preparing the final EIA which will be appended to the environmental permit application.
Elia is committed to taking mitigating measures and to an extensive support policy involving compensation measures for those living in the immediate vicinity.
The project EIA is a hefty document (1,500 pages, with 1,500 pages of appendices) that examines a project's impacts on people and the environment. The document sets out many measures that Elia is committed to taking to limit the impacts of the Ventilus project.
Mitigating measures
- Measures that comply with the prevailing legislation: e.g. infiltration and buffer capacity in high-voltage substations and terminal towers; compliance of the noise impacts with VLAREM standards; compensation measures for permanent loss of woodland/forest, etc.
- Measures integrated into the project (standard): e.g. bird diverters in risk areas; use of compact lattice towers; replacement of felled trees; after the construction phase, restoration of the construction areas to their original condition; provision of access roads to pylon locations where possible at the edge of agricultural land to limit disruption during the work; road plates with wood chips when laying an underground cable to avoid soil compaction; uninterrupted access for residents to their homes, etc.
- Measures and recommendations arising from the environmental assessment (specific): avoiding the discharge of pumping water into narrow waterways or ditches with a limited discharge capacity; using quieter construction equipment and/or erecting temporary noise barriers near homes (if possible); limiting the length of the work near homes, etc.
Support measures
In addition to mitigating measures, Elia has developed an extensive support policy, which, as requested by the previous Flemish government, effectively expands the compensation policy. Homeowners living up to 100 metres from a new 380-kV overhead line will be given the chance to sell their property to Elia. As well as a more extensive compensation policy, Elia is committed to bringing forward the undergrounding of 119 km of overhead lines in West Flanders.
In order to address concerns about electromagnetic fields, a support policy focusing on health issues was developed in conjunction with the previous Flemish government. Based on the precautionary principle, guideline values for exposure to magnetic fields were agreed. The Flemish authorities will also monitor this. Finally, there are also support measures focusing on landscape integration, such as the creation of green buffer zones masking the view of the high-voltage infrastructure.
