A provision for a fixed minimum distance between wind turbines and residential areas is being considered for the new Land Use Act. The same distance requirement for all projects would, in many cases, completely prevent wind power development and jeopardize industrial investments in Finland that rely on clean and affordable electricity. Additionally, such regulation would push projects away from areas already impacted by human activity and closer to pristine natural environments.
Clean and affordable electricity is Finland’s strongest competitive advantage in attracting investments. The electrification of society and industry, industrial growth investments, hydrogen projects, and data centers are driving an increasing demand for clean electricity, and wind power is the fastest way to meet this need. At the same time, the growth of renewable energy is a key and provenly effective way to reduce emissions and advance climate goals.
However, the proposed fixed minimum distance requirement for wind power threatens both investment opportunities and environmental protection. Finland’s current wind power regulation is already among the strictest in Europe, based on case-by-case impact assessments that carefully consider factors such as noise pollution. A fixed minimum distance would eliminate this impact-based permitting system and reduce local municipalities’ authority in land use planning.
“According to our data, a minimum distance of 1.25 kilometers—or even slightly over a kilometer—from residential areas would render 40% of the wind power projects currently under development unfeasible. The impact would be particularly severe in southern Finland, where additional electricity production is needed to balance our power system. Furthermore, halting these projects would endanger the growth of electricity production required by industry,” says Anni Mikkonen, CEO of Renewables Finland.
The proposed distance requirement would also have environmental consequences. Instead of locating wind power near already developed areas, the regulation would push projects further north, away from human-modified environments and closer to natural and wilderness areas. This contradicts the principles of sustainable development and biodiversity conservation.
“A long minimum distance would effectively push wind farms deep into the wilderness areas of northern and eastern Finland. This would move electricity production far from consumption centers, requiring long transmission lines with their associated environmental impacts. This fragmentation would degrade nature. The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation believes that the current noise-based regulation for wind power is a far better approach than a fixed minimum distance requirement,” says Tapani Veistola, Executive Director of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation.
Sustainable and competitive energy production must continue to be based on impact assessments and local decision-making—not rigid regulation that forces projects in environmentally harmful directions.
For more information:
Anni Mikkonen, CEO, Renewables Finland, anni.mikkonen@suomenuusiutuvat.fi | +358 40 771 6114
Tapani Veistola, Executive Director, Finnish Association for Nature Conservation, tapani.veistola@sll.fi | +358 400 615 530
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