Court halts wind farm in Sweden
Sweden’s Land and Environmental Court of Appeal rejected on Wednesday a proposed wind farm off the coast of Falkenberg after it was determined the project could threaten the livelihoods of fish and porpoises.
Swedish Radio’s local channel in Halland said the wind farm could scare away cod from their spawning grounds and hurt the mating of porpoises. It also cast doubt on whether the revenue from the wind power generated would exceed the project’s costs.
Jan-Åke Jacobson, CEO of the developer Favonius, said the decision was hard to swallow.
“Well, I’m a little disappointed and confused. They agreed, in fact, to our environmental impact report but still rejected our application,” he said.
Falkenberg municipality, which lies on Sweden’s west coast south of Gothenburg, had previously said yes to the project, called Kattegatt Offshore. The wind farm would have included some 50 wind in an area of 22 square kilometers in the sea.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Canadian diamond mine uses wind power in Northwest Territories, CBC News
Finland: Defence considerations threatening wind power investments in Finland, Yle News
Sweden: Sweden’s reindeer and wind power industries trying to coexist, Radio Sweden
United States: Windmills could be adding power to Anchorage, Alaska grid within weeks, Alaska Dispatch
