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Wind Power News: Norway
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.
Norway wind farm tax to ruin investor confidence – developer
Norway’s proposed introduction of a ground rent tax on wind farms next year will destroy the country’s reputation as an attractive place for renewables investments, green developer Cloudberry told Montel on Tuesday. “The proposal will have terrible [sic] consequences,” said the company’s COO Andreas Thon Aasheim. His comments came after the government proposed introducing a 40% ground rent tax for onshore wind farms next year, which comes in addition to a temporary 22% windfall profit tax on wind and hydropower . . . Complete story »
Norway threatens to shut down wind farm after wind destroys turbines
The Norwegian government has threatened to shutter a large wind farm in the northern part of the country after reports of wind storms destroying turbines, sending parts flying. Norwegian Water and Energy Directorate (NVE), the agency that oversees the nation’s water and energy resources, penned a letter this week to the operator of Ånstadblåheia Vindpark in Sortland, Norway, expressing concern about falling debris at the site and the broader technical integrity of the plant. The agency said it would consider . . . Complete story »
The costs of choosing wind power; A message from a Sami youth
As a Sámi youth, I have one important message: We must stop the continuous encroachment on nature in the Arctic. Our nature is robust but at the same time, fragile. We, the Sámi, know that we are only a guest in nature and that you must not take more than you need. Our traditional way of living – working with reindeer and nature – taught us that we can live comfortably if we manage nature carefully. However, as a species, we are . . . Complete story »
Norway to resume onshore wind power licensing after 3-year break
Norway will resume its licensing process for onshore wind power developments after a three-year hiatus, limiting it to municipalities that are willing to accommodate the giant turbines, the country’s energy minister said on Friday. The process of approving new wind power plants was put on hold in 2019 amid a backlash to the construction on previously unspoilt land. “We are today sending a letter today to NVE (regulator), asking them to re-open the licensing process for onshore wind farms,” Norwegian . . . Complete story »
Reindeer herders push to reclaim land from Norway wind farms
Norway’s blustery Fosen peninsula is a long way from anywhere, its mountains sustaining the Indigenous Sami and their reindeer for centuries. These same peaks are vital to the kingdom’s wind energy plans, and native herder Lena Haugen says her people pay the price. Snaking through the snowy terrain are dozens of sky-high wind turbines, built on Sami land by state-controlled Fosen Vind. When the machines came, the reindeer left, spooked by the cacophony of construction and the whoosh of spinning . . . Complete story »
Critics blow off new wind power plans
Criticism is flying once again after the Norwegian government finally launched development plans this week for two offshore wind energy fields in the southern portion of the North Sea. Neither may be profitable, with critics calling them “a lost opportunity” and a “belly-flop” because of compromises struck within the government coalition. Trade Minister Jan Christian Vestre from the Labour Party did his best to build enthusiasm around the wind energy project, likening it to plans more than 50 years ago . . . Complete story »
Norway’s Sami population say wind farms threaten their livelihoods and ancestral traditions
On a gusty mountain crest, the Jama brothers weave between wind turbines that stretch as far as the eye can see, on what used to be their animals’ winter pasture. Climate emergency or not – for these reindeer herders, the turbines have to go. “Before, the area was perfect for our reindeer. The place was pristine, unspoiled by human activity. Now, everything has been ruined for years to come,” laments Leif Arne, the younger of the brothers, at the wheel of . . . Complete story »
Oljelekkasje i vindkraftverket | Oil leak in wind turbine
Brannvesenet bistår i opprydding etter oljelekkasje i Frøya vindpark. – Det er snakk om en lekkasje i en turbin, hvor en hydralikkslange har røket i hub’en/fronten på rotoren, sier Nils Henrik Johansson, miljø- og myndighetsansvarlig i Trønderenergi. – Det har rent ut noe olje. Det aller meste av det skal ha rent ut inne i turbinen. Men det har også rent litt nedover turbinen. Det var sånn det ble oppdaget, forteller Johansson. – Kontroll på lekkasjen – Vet dere hvor . . . Complete story »
Row over microplastics from wind turbines rumbles on
A controversy over the quantities of microplastics (paint, epoxy, and by extension highly toxic Bisphenol A or BPA) being released into the environment during the operation of wind turbines has been rumbling on locally for some weeks. A claim made by the Turbine Group that the blades of a 4.2MW turbine could emit 62 kilos of material annually was ridiculed by the developer of the Viking Energy wind farm, which base its own calculation of 150 grams per turbine per . . . Complete story »
Sámi leaders voice concern over projected wind farm
During the recent years, there has been increasing interest in the northern Nordic regions to use their natural resources for renewable energies. While the fight for climate change is important for the communities, some fear that proposed plans will bring more harm than good to the area. The Finnish energy company ST1 and Grenselandet AS are facing criticism from Sámi community members and locals in their proposed wind farm project, named Davvi (northern Sámi for north), as previously reported by . . . Complete story »
