Background
Ilmatar is developing two wind farms that will be located near each other in the northwestern part of Paltamo. Hukkalansalo’s project area on the north side of Vaarankylä partially borders the municipality of Puolanka. Located more to the west, the Takiankangas area on the north side of Petäjälahti village borders both Vaala and Puolanka.
The tentative plan is to build 31 turbines in the Takiankangas area and 19 turbines in the Hukkalansalo area. More specific locations for the turbines are determined based on the results of the environmental impact assessment, conducted during the land-use planning process.
Both areas have received assent from the Finnish Defence Forces, allowing tip heights of up to 350 metres. Both areas have also received assent regarding air navigation obstacles, i.e. the planned turbines do not restrict civil aviation.
The environmental impact assessment is currently underway, and a considerable number and variety of reports have been conducted during 2022. Our environmental reports have focused on e.g. bird migration routes, predatory birds’ territories, grouse courtship display areas and other nesting avifauna in the summer. Vegetation and environment types have also been surveyed, and we have conducted e.g. bat and flying squirrel surveys. In addition, archaeological reports have been made for areas where wind farms are planned and transmission line routings are under assessment.
The environmental impact assessment was made available from June to August 2022, and it was also presented in a public event at Jättiläisenmaa in Paltamo on June 15th, 2022. The Kainuu Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment is the point of contact for the environmental impact assessment. A total of 18 statements related to the assessment were provided to the point of contact.
There were 17 opinions submitted, with 51 signatories in total. A statement by the point of contact highlights the key points of these opinions and statements. The point of contact stated that it is important to take a close look at the various implementation options, including options for transmission lines. In particular, the statement emphasized the significance of assessing the combined impact of this and other wind power projects.
During the fall, Ilmatar will elaborate the location plan for the turbines after the initial results of the reports and the assessment. By further refining the locations and possibly removing some, the goal is to create an actionable and widely acceptable plan for both the Takiankangas and the Hukkalansalo wind farms. The EIA report and any analyses thereof are submitted to the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment at the end of January 2023 as scheduled and made available to the public in February 2023. At the same time, the municipality of Paltamo will also make component master plan drafts available.
Documents related to the environmental impact assessment of the Takiankangas and the Hukkalansalo wind power projects are available on the Kainuu Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment website (in Finnish).
Lisätiedot
Ville Huovinen
Project Developer
+358 45 672 1192
[email protected]
Jussi Mäkinen
Head of Project Development
+358 40 576 1097
[email protected]