Sweden—the country that brought the world 17-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg—is aiming to zero out greenhouse gases by 2045. To reach that goal, it’s ramping up wind energy. The country expects to install 1.8 gigawatts of capacity of wind power this year alone, enough to charge more than 16,000 Nissan LEAF electric cars.

At Ripfjallet, in the forests near Malung in western Sweden, German wind developer WPD AG has plans to build as many as 30 wind turbines that would reach heights of up to 250 meters (820 feet), according to Maria Roske, managing director of WPD’s Scandinavian arm. But a group of area residents is working to block it. “The project risks destroying the area where our ancestors used to hunt and pick berries. We want to be able to pass it on to future generations,” says Hans Ojes, one of the group’s organizers.

The efforts of the group have led to a referendum that could decide the project’s fate, which local politicians will schedule by June 22. “Wind power stirs up a lot of emotions, and the industry is used to both worry and criticism. Even if a lot of people are in favor of renewables and wind power, it’s different when it’s close by,” Roske told Swedish public broadcaster SVT last year.