Wind Power a Disaster for Reindeer Husbandry
The Norwegian company Fred Olsen Renewables has received rights for two years to examine the possibility of a windmill park in Stekenjokk in Västerbotten. Tomas Nejne, leader of the Vilhelmina Southern sameby (Sami village) is quoted as saying to the regional newspaper
We hoped to the end, that our interests would come first. For us reindeer herders, if the exploitation of Stekenjokk goes ahead, it will be a disaster and we will resist all attempts until we go bankrupt…Building wind turbines on Stekenjokk will kill our Sameby.
Wind power is also being proposed in a new area on the Kola Peninsula in North West Russia. According to Barents Observer, a Russian company is requesting permission for the construction of a 110 million EURO windmill park on the western side of the Pechenga Bay, just few kilometres from the border to Norway.
I think wind energy is the key to the future and as more and more are built, the cost in production will go down!