– It is quite obvious that it would be against the UN Convention to lay the line through one of the other winter pastures. So says lawyer for Sør-Fosen site, Eirik Brønner. The dispute over Sami rights linked to the wind power plants at Storheia and Roan is in full swing. Now there may be even more fighting over reindeer grazing areas on the Fosen Peninsula in Trøndelag. Statnett wants to build a new 420 kV main power grid along the coast of Trøndelag and Møre og Romsdal. The planned route will go across one of the last two winter pastures of the affected Sámi south of Fosen. The permit was granted in 2013 at the same time as the concession for Storheia and Roan. – Like all major infrastructure measures, the development of power lines affects the environment. Our task is to carry out measures within the framework set by the authorities. So says the communications manager for the project at Statnett, Håkon Smith-Isaksen Holdhus. Statkraft has developed wind power at Fosen. Now Statnett wants to build a 420 kV power line that will also take off the reindeer herding Sami’s areas. Photo: Ingrid Lindgaard Stranden / news Same method as in Storheia and Roan Reindriftssamene’s lawyer points out that the sum total of interventions in the winter grazing areas will increase the human rights violation in Fosen. – The Supreme Court has concluded that these are three winter pastures the reindeer-herding Sami are completely dependent on, says Brønner. Statnett’s plan is to expropriate and pre-empt the land areas. This means taking land into use before it is completely clear what it means for those affected. Just like at Storheia and Roan. – If you want to be on the safe side, such preliminary interventions should not be given, but wait until the legality of the interventions has been decided with final effect, says Professor of Jurisprudence at the University of Tromsø, Øyvind Ravna. The communication manager for the project at Statnett, Håkon Smith-Isaksen Holdhus, points out that they already have a license for the development, and that an earlier assessment of the submarine cable in Stjørnfjorden turned out to be an expensive solution. Photo: Statnett Both the host municipality Indre Fosen municipality and the affected reindeer herding families believe that Statnett must lay the power line in a submarine cable to avoid natural encroachments. It was already in demand ten years ago, when the license was granted, according to Rune Schei. He is the leader of the area committee in Indre Fosen municipality. Not a step in the right direction In 2021, the Supreme Court said that the permits for the development of the two large wind power plants at Fosen are known to be invalid because the intervention infringes the right of the reindeer husbandry Sami to practice culture. The construction of 151 turbines in the Storheia and Roan mountain areas violates the UN Convention on Civil and Political Rights, SP 27. This means the families’ ability to engage in reindeer husbandry in the future. The government has apologized for the human rights violation. It has not been clarified what the state will do to stop the breach or what will happen to the turbines in the area. Now it’s about getting down to a level that allows the breach to end. An expansion of the power line will not be a step in the right direction, according to the lawyer for the Sami. – Any new development in Sør-Fosen’s late winter grazing areas will further worsen the winter grazing capacity and will therefore also be in breach of SP 27, says Brønner. The development of wind power at Storheia and Roan at Fosen is an infringement on the Sami as indigenous people, the Supreme Court has ruled. Now the state must get below the level of infringement. Photo: Ingrid Lindgaard Stranden / news More expensive with submarine cable Much of the power line will go over uninterruptible mountains in Rissa in Indre Fosen municipality. The municipality is clear that they believe a power line will have major negative consequences. They believe that Statnett must bear the cost of laying parts of the power line in submarine cables in Stjørnfjorden instead of on land. Then both the winter grazing area for the Sami and other nature can be spared. Area for planned construction of a new 420 kV power line at Fosen. Statnett believes this will be an expensive solution. They indicate that permission for the development has already been granted. In the updated investment plan from 2022, the cost of the power line is now estimated at between NOK 2.4 and 3.4 billion. – In connection with the original license application from Statnett, a submarine cable from Selvneset into Stjørnfjorden with a possible land roof in Gammelbreivika was considered. Such a solution would have been significantly more expensive than if a license had been granted, says Smith-Isaksen Holdhus. The municipality points out that the reality is different now, than when the license was granted in 2013. And that the economic consequences of laying the cable in the sea must be assessed and weighted in a different way after the Storheia development. In its consultation statement, the municipality says that: “In other words, Indre Fosen municipality is critical of the fact that Statnett does not include the relationship with the Supreme Court judgment on Storheia in its assessments.” To connect north and south The power line is planned from Åfjord in Trøndelag and further south to Møre and Romsdal. The idea is to connect the north and the south better. The line will also be able to carry power from, among other things, the wind power plants at Fosen more easily out into the world. This is the route Statnett wants to build. It is the last stage in building a new main network in the outer part of Trøndelag and Møre og Romsdal. – It will increase the north-south capacity in the transmission network and strengthen the regional security of supply. It will facilitate new commercial activities and the electrification of existing industry, says Smith-Isaksen Holdhus. Today, the power from the wind turbines is fed north to Namsos and on to the main grid from there. Businesses along the coast of Trøndelag and Møre og Romsdal are among those who have emphasized the need for more power in their areas. – The application Statnett now has for consideration by the authorities is not a new license application, but an application for minor adjustments related to routes and facilities for which we already have a licence, says Smith-Isaksen Holdhus. 112 kilometers of development There is talk of building 112 kilometers of new 420 kV power line and 7 kilometers of submarine cable to cross the Trondheimsfjord. Statnett is applying for a renewed expropriation permit in addition to a permit for advance entry. This means that Statnett will carry out an expansion before the assessment is held. This means that they can use the natural areas and develop, before the matter has been settled between them and the affected parties, possibly also in the court system. Exactly this has been a major theme in the judgment from the Supreme Court regarding the violation of human rights at Storheia and Roan. The development was carried out here before the matter had been settled legally, and now both the state, the reindeer herders and the developers are in a difficult situation. Reindriftssame Leif Arne Jåma at one of the turbines on Storheia. Photo: Ingrid LIndgaard Stranden / news The Sami Parliament and the affected reindeer herding Sami ask for consultation with the authorities. Another reality Indre Fosen municipality requests that preliminary intervention be rejected. The municipality also requests that the necessary resources be used to investigate the submarine cable before any permission for expropriation is granted: “The municipality believes that the wider community can choose to learn from the judgment in the Storheia case, and await development until the necessary rights have been clarified.” The case is now with the Norwegian Directorate of Water Resources and Energy (NVE). The consultation statements have been sent to Statnett for comment. Statnett had until 15 March to comment on the consultation statements. – After this, NVE will assess whether the matter has been sufficiently investigated, or whether there are grounds to ask Statnett for further investigations before we proceed with the processing. That’s what section manager at the energy and licensing department at NVE, Lisa Vedeld Hammer, says. Some of the affected mountain areas. The power line will follow the ridge from Åfjord on to Hasselvika in Indre Fosen municipality. Photo: Tariq Alisubh / news The Ministry of Oil and Energy says this to news: “The ministry is aware that Statnett has plans to realize the last part of a connected power line between Namsos and Trollheim, which includes crossing the Trondheimsfjord, and in that connection has applied to NVE for certain changes. The ministry is the appeal body for NVE’s decisions and assesses the relevant aspects of licensing cases if they are appealed to the ministry.”
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The state wants to take more of the Sami’s winter pastures at Fosen – news Trøndelag
