– Headwind Norway demands that all relevant documents be made available in Norwegian
Open letter to Minister of Petroleum and Energy Terje Lien Aasland
Subject: Consultation on amendments to the three EU directives (the Renewables Directive, the Energy Efficiency Directive and the Building Energy Directive), issued on 9 June with a consultation deadline of 8 August.
Headwind Norway demands that all relevant documents be made available in Norwegian and that the consultation period of 8 weeks only begins to run after Norwegian versions of the documents are available.
On 18 May this year, the EU plan launched “REPowerEU”. The plan includes that wind turbines on land and sea will be treated urgently with treatment times that can be shortened to one to a year. Work on the plan began as early as 2021, partly due to increasing opposition to onshore wind power. It is now presented as a measure against reduced imports of natural gas from Russia and justified by the war in Ukraine. Headwind Norway is very critical of both the plan itself and the way the consultation is carried out: 1) According to the Ministry, the three relevant directives have not been approved in Norway. It seems artificial to send for consultation amendments to unimplemented EU directives. 2) The case documents are not available in Norwegian. 3) A short “summer hearing” in such important, complex and conflict-filled cases cannot be accepted. 4) The current amendments are primarily about accelerating the production of renewable energy in the EU. In the Ministry’s consultation letter, solar energy is specifically mentioned, while wind power is not mentioned. This is despite the fact that the proposals will have far-reaching consequences for wind power development. When the “National framework for wind power” was launched in 2019, it triggered the most widespread popular opposition in decades. Approximately 5,300 consultation statements, most of them negative, led to the Solberg government having to scrap the entire proposal. It is only in the untranslated EU documents that it appears that the EU proposal also applies to a new wind turbine. Headwind Norway finds it directly striking that wind power is not even mentioned where the ministry uses the Norwegian language.
The case continues below the ad.
[annonse]
The case continues below the ad.
[annonse]
5) According to the proposals, new wind power licenses should be able to have simplified urgent treatment. This will, among other things, involve strengthening limited time for participation and assessment. The authorities must also designate particularly suitable areas for energy production (“renewables go-to areas”). This is in practice the same as the “National framework” from 2019. In “go-to areas”, it must be possible to grant licenses without project-specific impact assessments, as long as no neighboring country protests. A major expansion of the right for central authorities to grant licenses is required in relation to what applies in Norway today. This is also in direct conflict with the Storting’s clear decision that local authorities, and with the local population, on the contrary, will have greater influence over future licensing decisions. Headwind Norway demands that all relevant documents be made available in Norwegian and that the consultation period of eight weeks only begins to run after Norwegian versions of the documents are available. Hildegunn Flengstad, leader Motvind Norge John Fiskvik, 1st deputy leader Motvind Norge