Wind energy construction in Finland may double in little more than a year

Construction of wind power came almost to an end in Finland last year, but is now restarting. The amount of wind power provided to the grid may double in little more than a year. According to the Executive Director of the Finnish Wind Energy association, Anni Mikkonen, this year building permits have already been granted for 100 MW of projects. This is a lot if you compare the total with the number of completed wind power projects. At the end of 2010 there were 130 turbines whose output totaled 197 MW. Last year, only three small scale wind energy projects were completed in Finland. The delays are most commonly caused by complicated application processes and bureaucracy. However, both issues are now being addressed in Finland. The Finnish Department of Defence has finally started their studies on the effect of wind farms on radar data and the flight altitude recommendations above wind sites have been revised.

Source: Helsingin Sanomat, with special thanks to my lovely wife Minna-Riitta for the translation from Finnish to English