The new Land Use Act prevents the construction of wind and solar power facilities in Finland
The new Land Use Act could significantly alter the conditions for renewable energy construction in Finland. The bill, which advanced to parliamentary consideration in April, proposes a 50-hectare zoning limit for solar power and stricter distance requirements from residential areas for wind power than previously. These changes directly impact investments in the sector, jeopardise the increase in electricity production, and may weaken Finland’s ability to attract clean industry projects.
Under the proposed Land Use Act, all solar power projects larger than 50 hectares would be subject to zoning in the future. A large proportion of the planned projects fall within the 70–150-hectare size range, so the proposed threshold would not apply only to exceptionally large projects, but to a significant portion of project development in Finland. Suomen uusiutuvat believes that the proposal is inconsistent with the government program.
Suomen uusiutuvat has assessed the impacts of the regulatory change under the Land Use Act on the industrial solar power project development of its member companies. In practice, the proposed zoning restriction would extend the timelines for solar power projects, increase costs, and heighten uncertainty in the operating environment. It would delay investment decisions and, in some cases, prevent projects from moving forward entirely. Read more about the results of the study.
The proposed legislation on wind power would establish a fixed minimum distance of 1,250 meters from residential areas, which would make the current impact-based regulations significantly stricter. In practice, this change would rule out a large portion of Southern Finland’s wind power potential as well as several areas currently used for industrial purposes. Restricting wind power construction in Southern Finland, in turn, would make it more difficult to balance the power grid and weaken security of supply.
Furthermore, the transitional provision in the draft bill could lead to the cancellation of some projects, even though they are already well advanced and have received significant investment.
