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Wind Power News: Finland
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational effort to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Defence Forces: Few wind power locations available
So far this year the Defence Forces have rejected more applications to build wind farms than they have approved. The Defence Forces said they estimate that they’ll turn down a third of permit applications this year, signalling a change from earlier approval rates. Over the past ten years, the authorities have greenlit some 80 percent of planned wind power projects. Any plans to build new wind turbines more than 50 metres tall or within the vicinity of a strategic area, . . . Complete story »
Finnish armed forces oppose building wind farms over defence concerns
More wind farms should not be built in Eastern Finland as wind turbines distract radar operations along the 1,300-kilometre-long land border with Russia, according to the Finnish Defence Forces. Turbines over 50 metres tall or situated close to strategic areas require a green light from the armed forces. According to the military, the distance between a wind turbine and a radar installation must be at least 40 kilometres. Wind farms create shadow zones, interfering with reflections making regional surveillance more . . . Complete story »
Reindeer: ancient migration routes disrupted by roads, dams – and now wind farms
Reindeer, or caribou as they’re known in North America, are impressive travellers. Herds made up of many thousands of animals can cover 5,000km each year in the far north of Europe, Siberia and Canada. This is one of the longest land migrations on Earth – but an ongoing transformation of the Arctic landscape threatens to break it up. Roads, railways, mines and dams have disrupted the well-worn trails that reindeer follow each year, particularly across northern Europe. In one study, . . . Complete story »
Another blade damaged and fallen in the Metsälä wind facility (in Finnish)
Metsälän tuulivoimapuistossa on toisesta tuuliturbiinista pudonnut vaurioitunut lapa maahan [Still from video by Kai Ylikoski:] Metsälän tuulivoimapuistossa Kristiinankaupungissa on eilen sattunut toinen siiven rikkoutuminen, mikä on johtanut sen putoamiseen. Vastaava tapaus on käynyt aiemmin 5.9.2020. Kummankaan tapahtuman tarkasta syystä tai tapahtumaketjusta ei ole vielä tarkkaa selvyyttä. Tapahtuneen tutkintaa on hidastanut konehuoneen katolle jääneiden rikkoutuneiden osien muodostama putoamisriski. Lähiviikkoina paikalle saadaan nosturi, jonka avulla voimalan konehuoneen katto voidaan puhdistaa putoamisvaarassa olevista kappaleista. Tämän jälkeen tutkinnassa päästään enteenpäin. Vaurioituneiden voimaloiden lisäksi kaikkien . . . Complete story »
Sami women, indigenous reindeer herders, are fighting for their ancestral lands
In northern Europe, where winter temperatures hover between -13 and -22 degrees Fahrenheit, reindeer roam an ancient pine forest that’s blanketed by snow. That might sound like a fantastical scene from a snow globe, but for the Sámi people, the Indigenous inhabitants of Arctic Sweden, Norway, Finland, and the Kola Peninsula in Russia, this is home. The expansive region, known as Sápmi, is their ancestral land—and herding reindeer there has been a form of survival for them since the prehistoric . . . Complete story »
Arctic turbulence: why Indigenous communities are fighting wind farms
The Arctic is experiencing climate change at a faster pace than the rest of the world. Having already had to adapt, the Indigenous people of Norway, Sweden, Finland and north-western Russia – the Saami – now face a new threat to their existence as industrial wind farms are constructed on their ancestral lands to supply the western world’s growing demand for green energy. Speaking at a panel on Indigenous self-governance in 2018, Aili Keskitalo, the president of the Saami Parliament . . . Complete story »
Wind energy conflicts show how Arctic renewable energy projects can founder
At its essence, the Sámi position when it comes to renewable energy in the form of wind turbines and hydroelectric is simple: Herders don’t want their reindeer-herding disrupted by human-made hindrances. Infrastructure such as railways, roads, dams and wind farms all pose problems for herders in one way or another. In the case of wind farms, the problem is twofold: First, their placement can disrupt migration routes, either forcing reindeer and their herders to find a new path between winter . . . Complete story »
Record subsidies for old wind turbines this year
Finland’s energy watchdog estimates that renewable energy subsidies will soar by nearly a third this year, partly due to windy conditions and low electricity prices. Still, experts say the subsidies, which are being phased out over the next decade, represent a net benefit to society. The Energy Authority estimates that renewable energy feed-in tariffs will rise to a record 335 million euros this year. That is over 100 million euros more than last year. If the price of electricity stays . . . Complete story »
Study: Wind turbine noise not the cause of health symptoms
Claims of adverse health effects of the low frequency or infrasound vibrations caused by wind power stations are not supported by the newest, most long-ranging findings on the subject. A long-term government-commissioned study conducted by the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) and others found that waves of infrasound cause no measurable changes in human physiology, and could not be detected by the human ear in rigorous testing. Project leader Panu Maijala from VTT said that the wind power industry . . . Complete story »
Infrasound from wind turbines is detected at a distance of 40-60 km from wind parks during more than 50% of the measurement days
The Finnish Association for Environmental Health, SYTe, started measuring infrasound from wind turbines at seven different locations in Finland in the first half of April, 2019. According to the results from May–June the infrasound, from wind turbines can be measured at a distance of at least 30-60 km from the wind parks. In Satakunta, Southern and Northern Ostrobotnia, there is infrasound from wind turbines about half of the measurement days or even almost daily. On average, the infrasound from wind . . . Complete story »
