Dutch Economic Affairs Minister Maria van der Hoeven is pushing ahead plans to build the Netherlands' largest windmill park near the town of Urk in the northeastern Province of Flevoland.

The residents and local authorities of the deeply religious and traditional fishing town of Urk vehemently oppose the plans. The huge windmill park will contain turbines which are three times bigger than the windmills which currently line the coastline.

The minister has put aside a billion euros in subsidies to realise the maximum amount of wind power possible. The project will provide enough energy for 400,000 homes. She calls the agreement with the project organisers a step in the right direction to achieve the cabinet's sustainability targets.

The town was once an island in the Zuider Sea. It was incorporated into the reclaimed land of the North East Polder in the last century.

Photo: Urk - Wikimedia Commons