COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Norway’s energy regulator said on Tuesday it had rejected an application to build a wind farm in its northernmost Finnmark county, citing impacts to a wilderness area as well as Indigenous Sami culture.
The building of wind turbines has long been contentious in the Nordic country due to the impact from construction on nature and wildlife, and is particularly controversial in regions dominated by Sami reindeer herding.
“The project will have major, irreversible impacts on Norway’s second-largest continuous natural area with an untouched character,” the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) said in a statement.
“In addition, the area has great value for Sami culture and traditional use,” it said.
The project’s name, Davvi, means ‘north’ in Sami language.
The applicant, Grenselandet, can still comment on NVE’s decision and affected Sami interests can also request consultation, the regulator said.
ST1, majority owner of Grenselandet, did not immediately respond to a request for comment when contacted by Reuters.
Despite the rejection, the regulator said that building renewable energy projects in Finnmark still remained a priority.
The Davvi wind farm was designed to have a capacity of 800 megawatt (MW), the license application from Grenselandet showed.
(Reporting by Louise Rasmussen, editing by Stine Jacobsen)
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