On 16 May 2025, the Ministry of the Environment submitted the draft of a new Land Use Act for public comments. If enacted in its current form, the law would jeopardize Finland’s industrial green transition investments and, at the same time, undermine the government’s own climate and investment targets. The draft includes a fixed minimum distance between wind turbines and residential areas, which would threaten the continuity of wind power development in Finland – and also threaten the construction of the clean electricity needed by industry.
The Ministry’s proposal endangers green transition investments across Finland by potentially blocking new onshore wind development in many regions. Decarbonizing transport, heating and industry requires significant amounts of new clean electricity production — a goal now threatened by this legislative reform.
“The government’s proposed regulation could derail its own climate and investment objectives. For example, implementing Finland’s ambitious hydrogen strategy is simply not possible without affordable and clean wind power. However, it’s not too late to make corrections: a setback distance of three times the turbine height could be a workable compromise — one that still allows wind power growth and supports Finland’s electricity expansion targets,” says Anni Mikkonen, CEO of Renewables Finland (Suomen uusiutuvat ry).
The proposed fixed distance requirement would dismantle the current impact-based permitting system and weaken municipal autonomy in land use planning. It would also damage trust in the consistency and predictability of Finland’s regulatory environment. One of Finland’s core competitive advantages in attracting industrial green investments is its strong portfolio of onshore wind projects, which enable rapid, clean, and affordable electricity generation.
Currently, the distance between wind turbines and housing is determined by the Ministry of the Environment’s noise modeling guidelines and a government decree on permissible exterior noise levels. Together, these form one of the strictest wind power setback regimes in Europe. In addition, project impacts are thoroughly assessed through zoning and environmental impact assessment processes. This existing regulatory framework ensures that projects are sited responsibly — both ecologically and socially. The new proposal would significantly tighten already strict Finnish setback regulations.
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