The case in summary: • The Industrial and Business Party (INP) in Skien has secured the Conservative Party’s power by issuing an ultimatum that there will be no wind power projects in Skien for the next four years.• Aarvold admits that this is a defeat for the Conservative Party, but says that that’s how politics works.• Norsk Vind is surprised by the agreement and thinks it’s sad that a protest party has destroyed the work with renewable energy in Skien. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. The wind has blown in many directions in Skien since the election. The Industrial and Business Party in Skien ensured that the wind blew towards the Right. With that, they have also received a written promise that there will be no wind power projects in Skien for the next four years. Issued an ultimatum On Wednesday, the announcement came that there will be a political change in the city. Marius Roheim Aarvold from the Conservative Party will become the municipality’s new mayor in collaboration with the Frp, KrF and Venstre. But the coalition did not have a majority. In order to secure power, the parties had to court the Industrial and Business Party (INP). INP had a clear demand, says Tommy Ballestad, group leader for INP in the city council in Skien. – We set an ultimatum. If we were to vote for the Conservative Party, we had to be sure that wind power was out of the question in Skien, he says. Tommy Ballestad, group leader for INP in the city council in Skien. Photo: Martin Torstveit / news Ballestad believes it was a prerequisite to vote for Aarvold as mayor on 19 October. – We had to get a guarantee for wind power stoppages in Skien. We have a written agreement with the four parties which states that in the period 2023–2027 no wind power shall be established on the areas of Skien municipality. Confirms agreement Marius Roheim Aarvold confirms that they have signed an agreement with INP to secure power for the next four years. – INP had a demand and we have agreed to that agreement. Marius Roheim Aarvold (H), incoming mayor of Skien. Photo: Jonas Ryden / news The Conservative Party has been clear in its election programme. The party wants all types of renewable energy in Skien. Aarvold believes the compromise was inevitable. – We have always worked to get a majority constellation in place in Skien. It turned out that it was difficult. In the end, the INP went with an electoral technical cooperation which was the alternative. – How do you defend this to your voters? – This is clearly a defeat for the Conservative Party. This is how it is in politics and processes that there is give and take, says Aarvold. The parties in the coalition will present other solutions to provide enough power for the industry, says the incoming mayor. – We want to look at all forms of renewable energy, but within the four years there will be no wind power development in Skien. – Frustrating There was broad support among almost all parties to investigate new power projects in Skien. According to Norsk Vind, there are no municipalities in the country that have worked better with renewable energy than Skien. They are surprised by the agreement between the INP and the coalition. – The fact that a protest party comes in and destroys all this work I think is sad, says Espen Borgir Christophersen, project manager at Norsk Vind. Espen Borgir Christophersen, project manager at Norsk Vind. Skien has now put an end to what is perhaps the biggest contribution to developing more renewable power in the Greenland region, he believes. That the Conservative Party was willing to sacrifice wind power for power shows how fragile renewable energy and wind power are, says Christophersen. – The fact that you are now sacrificing that issue to get into a position and become mayor testifies that the development of renewable energy has a longer way to go than you might have thought.
ttn-69
INP ultimatum secured the Conservative Party’s power and stopped all plans for wind power – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
