Loga ášši sámegillii. – It is quite incredible that we have to meet here again to stop new wind power plans after human rights violations were found. That’s what Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen says to news. She and other campaigners are at Fosen on Friday to campaign against new wind power plans. They have asked representatives from Indre Fosen municipality to meet them. The message is clear. – We will not hesitate to start new demonstrations if that is what is needed, says Hætta Isaksen. Members from the Palestine Committee are also campaigning. Nordic Wind is part-owned by an Israeli fund. Photo: Ingrid Lindgaard Stranden / news Wants more development This summer it became known that the company Nordic Wind is looking at the possibility of developing new wind power in Sør-Fosen, located in its grazing areas. It is the same reindeer herding that, just before Christmas, reached an agreement with the state and developers in the long-running and heated Fosen case. Sami activists, the environmental movement and the Palestine Committee today handed over a separate letter to the mayor and deputy mayor of Indre Fosen – Norway has already fatally disappointed the Sami people in the Fosen case. Now we must ensure that previous mistakes are not repeated, says Hætta Isaksen. The letter handed over by the activists urges the municipal councils in Indre Fosen and Inderøy to distance themselves from new wind power plans. Photo: Ingrid Lindgaard Stranden / news The Fosen case has been a battle over who should have the right to use areas. The verdict in the Supreme Court’s grand chamber in 2021 said that the reindeer owners at Fosen had a statutory right to exercise their culture and that this right was violated by the fact that winter grazing areas were built down with turbines and construction roads. Land use has been absolutely essential to the agreement in the case. And the state must find additional areas for reindeer husbandry. This contrasts with Nordic Wind’s wish to use more of the reindeer owners’ areas at Fosen. The Kjerringklumpen area in Indre Fosen is within the area Nordic Wind believes may be relevant for development. Photo: Bård Hindrum Not keeping the door open Nordic Wind has been in contact with the councils in Inderøy and Indre Fosen municipalities, and has had meetings with landowners. After the meeting with Indre Fosen, the shareholders will proceed to Inderøy municipality. Indre Fosen municipality denies that they are keeping the door open for such a development, but neither have they said “no” or taken any position on it. On Friday, the campaigners gathered outside Indre Fosen town hall. They will continue to Inderøy municipality later in the day. Photo: Ingrid Lindgaard Stranden / news In May, all the municipalities in Fosen received a letter from the Ministry of Local Government and District Affairs. Here, three ministers are asking that the municipalities, as managers of the Fosen reindeer herding district, should contribute to reindeer herding getting the peace and predictability it needs. The shareholders believe that the municipality must take a clear position. What the host municipalities think when a developer shows interest is decisive for whether a case reaches the licensing authority Norway’s Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) and is taken forward at all in order to obtain a permit. Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen was among those who had a meeting with both the King and the Crown Prince in connection with the demonstrations in Oslo a year ago. Photo: Simen Løvberg Sund / The Royal Court Requested meeting with Nordic Wind The campaigners call the actions in Inderøy and Indre Fosen “a demonstration against Nordic Wind”. The Palestine Committee is involved because Nordic Wind is partly owned by Israeli funds. This is Nordic WindNordic Wind AS is owned by the Swiss power company Fu-Gen Ag. Fu-Gen Ag acquired Nordic Wind AS in 2023. Israeli Yaron Feingers is one of two founders of Fu-Gen Ag. Israeli pension funds Migdal Pensjonsfond and Menora Mivtachim Pensjonsfond owns a minority share in the company, according to Avisa Nordland (behind a paywall). These are both public, Israeli companies. Together with the privately owned and Israeli Arkin Group, they invested 320 million euros in Fu-Gen in 2022. The founder is the chairman of the board Nordic Wind’s general manager is Terje Dyrstad. He has held the position since 2020, i.e. before they were acquired by Fu-Gen Ag. Nordic Wind’s chairman is today the other founder of Fu-Gen Ag: Italian Lorenzo Lanteri. Nordic Wind rejects that the soundings they have carried out are “plans”, for which they believe that the process has come too short. They call the work they do a “screening”. On Friday, Nordic Wind did not respond to news’s inquiries. – As long as the municipalities have not clearly said no, we will continue the mapping work, said CEO of Nordic Wind, Terje Dyrstad, to news in June. Hätta Isaksen is sad for the reindeer owners on Fosen’s behalf. – For us, it is extremely important to show the Fosen Sami that we stand by their side and that they should not be afraid of their future. – They have been promised peace. They have not received that and there are already new threats. We cannot accept that. Published 06.09.2024, at 14.28 Updated 06.09.2024, at 14.47
ttn-69
New action at Fosen: – Unbelievable that we have to meet here again
