On Friday, the Government sent out a proposal to amend the Energy Act and the Planning and Building Act. The motivation is to give municipalities greater power in wind power matters. – We want to give local governments more control. Increased involvement of municipalities and local communities is necessary to give legitimacy to these processes, says local government minister Sigbjørn Gjelsvik (Sp). The consultation deadline for the proposal is 27 February, and the goal is for the new rules to apply from this summer. The bill follows up on an encouraging resolution from the Storting that new wind power developments should be transferred from the Energy Act to the Planning and Building Act. More about the proposal The proposal in the consultation note means that a requirement is introduced for area clarification for wind power plants under the Planning and Building Act in the form of area regulation, before a license can be granted under the Energy Act. The area regulation must determine the overarching requirements that are relevant for the decision on land use. The municipality must be able to demand that developers draw up proposals for area regulation, and developers get a corresponding right to be able to promote such a plan. The right to dispensation for wind power projects, which applies today, will be significantly reduced. There may, however, exceptionally be a dispensation from the requirement for area regulation where overarching area-related prerequisites are set at the same level of detail as in area regulation, for example in a municipal (part) plan. Licensing of wind power plants according to the Energy Act will continue as today. The ability to cancel and change area regulations for wind power plants with a license application is limited. The special rule on being able to give a final wind power concession the effect of a state spatial plan has been repealed. It is also made clear that government spatial plans cannot be complained about. – Increased involvement of municipalities and local communities is necessary to give legitimacy to these processes, says Municipal Minister Sigbjørn Gjelsvik (Sp). Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB – A long country like Norway has enough nature The decision came after a cross-party agreement that “more thorough processes” and greater local involvement in the issue of wind power were necessary. The same recognition meant that wind power development was put on hold in 2019. Last year, however, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Ap) announced that the time had come to start up that. Behind the song were projections for current use and a strained power situation. – I like to believe that a long country like Norway has enough nature for us to do this in a gentle way, he said to news. Jenny Følling (Sp) is mayor of Sunnfjord, which this winter will decide on a possible wind farm on Høyangerfjellet. – It is positive that there will be a change in the law that will give the municipalities a hand at the wheel in wind power matters, she says. – But I am surprised at the short consultation deadline. The state has spent two years on this, and the municipalities are given a consultation period of one and a half months. The mayor of Høyanger, Petter Sortland (Ap), tells news that he wonders about the same. – This is taking local democracy seriously Jon Rolf Næss, leader of the National Association of Vasskraftkommunar (LVK) – That the municipalities are now given more power in relation to the establishment of wind power is good news! These are often major interventions, which affect many in the area in and around the areas that are affected, and then it is very good that the municipalities can decide whether they want such an establishment, and how extensive it will be. This is taking local democracy seriously, and may well mean that the municipalities will be more positive about more onshore wind in the future. We need that in order to face the future in a sustainable way. This is good for the green shift. Bård Ludvig Thorheim, Høgre – Høgre is clear that it is urgent to pick up the pace to produce more renewable energy, so this did not come a day too soon. Amendments to the Planning and Building Act that give the municipalities a hand at the wheel in development should have been put forward last year. With that said, it is good that the government is now hearing about this. We know that we need more power in Norway. Onshore wind power is the most affordable way to quickly get more power. At the same time, the government has introduced a ground rent tax on wind power on land, which entails political risk. Many investors will now refuse to invest in power developments in Norway. The competition for capital is great, and our neighboring countries also have big plans that now seem far more attractive. – We want to give local public authorities more control, says municipal minister Sigbjørn Gjelsvik (Sp). Photo: William Jobling / news Production tax and ground rent tax Several steps have been taken in the past year to involve and compensate the municipalities that provide natural resources to councils. In 2022, a production tax was introduced which fell to the host municipalities. From 2023, it is set at 2 øre per kWh. Furthermore, ground rent tax has been introduced for land-based wind power plants from 2023. Today, the main rule is that the municipalities grant permits for wind power after the project has been granted a licence. In the legislative proposal to the government, the land use will be clarified according to the Planning and Building Act – before a license is granted. Simply explained: The regulation of wind power developments is transferred from the Energy Act to the Planning and Building Act (where the municipal council has the last word). – In the past, the municipalities have risked that the project they say yes to will be changed before it is built, so that, for example, it ends up with higher turbines than they thought. We will correct that, says Gjelsvik. - It is positive that there will be a change in the law that gives the municipalities a hand on the wheel in wind power matters, says Jenny Følling (Sp), who is the mayor of Sunnfjord. Photo: Ingrid Lindgaard Stranden / news – We must strengthen the power balance Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland (Ap) adds that the overall goal is to facilitate more development of wind power – “to strengthen the power balance and reach the national climate goals”. – Now we transfer power to the municipalities. This will provide a more predictable framework and help to reduce the level of conflict in wind power cases. NVE expects an increase in power consumption in Norway of 36 TWh up to 2040. According to a new report that Thema Consulting has prepared for NHO, the annual power demand in Norway may increase by 57 TWh to 196 TWh in 2030. In the Hurdal platform, the Støre government writes that they will “ensure that local communities that make natural resources available get more in return”. – Now we are transferring power to the municipalities, says Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland (Ap). Photo: Gorm Kallestad / NTB – A clarification we have been waiting a long time for Director of Cloudberry Clean Energy, Andreas Thon Aasheim, calls the bill “an important clarification for municipalities and the wind power industry”. – This is a clarification we have been waiting for for a long time. The municipalities can now formalize the informal right of veto they have had. He says it is positive that the area process should run parallel to the licensing process, “but there may be challenges linked to long periods between revisions of the area part of the municipal plan”. – We hope that more municipalities will now go through their areas, and assess where wind power may be relevant, and not least where it is not relevant. We will now study the Government’s proposal in more detail, and then we hope that the Government will listen to the industry and introduce a neutral ground rent tax for new projects, so that it will be possible to realize new wind power projects in those municipalities that want more power.
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New law for wind power will ensure the municipalities more power – news Vestland
