Resistance and protests against wind turbines in Norwegian nature are still strong. It was also the reason why the government stopped all new development in 2019. But this spring they reopened for new licences. In Nærøysund in Trøndelag, business needs electricity. Here they are now defying the opposition and want to expand a wind power plant with over 20 new wind turbines. – We are a large growth municipality that looks into the future. I am saying the same as some environmentalists have said. We probably have to sacrifice a bit of nature to be greener on the other side, says Amund Hellesø. He is the mayor of a municipality that needs a lot of electricity, for, among other things, a new large industrial park – a park they claim will be the greenest in the world. Therefore, the municipal council will agree to start an impact assessment of an expansion of the Ytre Vikna wind farm, where there are currently 17 wind turbines. Mayor of Nærøysund, Amund Hellesø, does not rule out that there may be actions against the development. But he feels that most people in the municipality are positive that they must have more power and that wind power is a possible alternative. Photo: Vegard Woll / news Only applicants from Finnmark The growing need for power was an important reason why the authorities opened the door again to the construction of wind power on land. A recent report shows that by 2030 Norway will need 50 percent more power than today. But so far only five municipalities in Norway have agreed to processing wind power concessions. All of these are located in Finnmark. NVE believes that one reason for the low number is that many people are still skeptical because of the level of conflict. – A number of politicians were also elected to today’s municipal councils with the promise that they would not say yes to wind power development on land, says section head Svein Grotli Skogen in NVE to news. Sara-Marie Ulsund Stiksrud lives close to today’s 17 wind turbines and does not want any more. She says there is simmering among the opponents, but doubts that they will be able to stop the plans. Photo: Vegard Woll / news – Like a plane that never lands Resistance to the plans is also in Nærøysund, and the organization Motvind has organized a public meeting. In the small hamlet of Austafjord, we meet mother of young children and member Sara-Marie Ulsund Stiksrud. She lives only a few hundred meters away from today’s wind turbines, which were built almost without protests from the population. But Stiksrud is clear that she does not want more turbines in the neighbourhood. – We hear them all the time. It’s like a plane that never lands. We who live here also experience shadows cast by the mills, says Stiksrud. This, she believes, affects both animals and humans negatively. Stiksrud understands the need for power, but believes many people do not see the big picture. She points out that the production of the mills also affects nature globally. This happens, among other things, through mining work elsewhere in the world that is needed to obtain the minerals and the rest required to produce the wind turbines. Prepared for resistance The interventions in nature locally are also an important reason why she says no to more development. Despite the fact that it is simmering among the opponents, she is still skeptical about whether they will be able to stop the project. – Unfortunately, I am a bit of a pessimist. It is tough to stand up to a unanimous chairmanship and large financial powers. I hope we can stop it, but I doubt it, says Stiksrud. Both Mayor Hellesø and power producer Nord-Trøndelag E-verk (NTE) are prepared for resistance. But they believe that new and stricter requirements for license processing will contribute to more support for the development project. – We recognize that processes that have taken place in the past have not been good, so now the aim is to create a better process at the forefront based on the new guidelines for onshore wind power. – There must be closer involvement, we must have acceptance from the municipality, reindeer husbandry must be taken into account. The process should also take less time, says director Inge Forseth, who is director of energy at NTE. They have also conducted opinion polls in the municipality over several years about wind power. They show that a majority are positive about an expansion of the wind power plant in Ytre Vikna. An opinion poll shows that a majority in Nærøysund are positive about onshore wind power. Johan Thomas Dahle lives close to the current wind turbines and is also positive about an expansion of the facility. Photo: Vegard Woll / news NVE has good capacity So far, a unanimous chairmanship has said yes and both opponents and supporters are sure that there will also be a yes in the municipal council in December. According to the current rules, this is also a prerequisite for NVE to process the case with a licence. Without such a decision, a development is neither assessed for impact nor dealt with in reality. In NVE, they currently have good capacity to process new license applications for wind power. But section manager Svein Grotli Skogen is very uncertain about how much they will have to do in the coming year. – How it will be next year is impossible to say. We have the cases in Finnmark and now possibly the case in Trøndelag. But we also see that municipalities say no, as recently in Siljan in Telemark, says Skogen. Here, on 15 November, the politicians said no to going ahead with the plans for a wind and solar park in the village. Only five Norwegian municipalities have applied for a license to build wind turbines on land after it was opened again this spring. All of these are located in Finnmark. Photo: Vegard Woll / news
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Nærøysund defies opposition – wants to build new wind turbines on land – news Trøndelag
