Responsibility of the State of Statkraft and Norway for violating the cultural rights of the indigenous Sami people of Lapland, in the case of the wind macro-project Fosen Vind

On October 11, 2021, the Norwegian Supreme Court declared the license for the development of the mega-project wind project Fosen Vind in the Trondelag region of Middle Norway null. The ruling concludes that the construction of the wind complex has destroyed the pastoral lands of the reindeer and has violated Sami's right to the culture of the indigenous people, also known as the Laponian people. Statkraft is the main owner of the consortium Fosen Vind (52%) and has been responsible for the implementation of the project.

In the case of Fosen Vind, the Norwegian State has also been part of the judicial process on behalf of the defendants. Since Statkraft is owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries, the State wanted a ruling in favour of the defendants, which was evident in the intervention of the Ministry of Oil and Energy in favour of the business association Fosen Vind. The Government of Norway was concerned that the issue could set a precedent and that it could bring foreign investors, such as Crédit Suisse, a participant in Fosen Vind, back to new wind concessions. He therefore aligned himself with the company in the appeal. In this way, the project continued without hearing the complaints of the bitter community. At the same time, the Norwegian State also has a legal responsibility to defend and protect the human rights of the claimants, of the indigenous Sami population. In this case, however, he was clearly in favour of the economic interests arising from the operation of the wind power central balances. Clear: The state chose money over people.

Since the judgment was passed, the Samiak have called for the dismantling of this wind complex, one of the largest in Europe. The facilities consist of six wind power plants, with a total of 151 wind turbines, towers of 87 meters height and rotors of 117 meters in diameter. But the conflict is not over, because the Norwegian Government says it is "analysing the consequences" of the sentence, while others talk about "reparative measures", the Fosen Vind consortium relaxes because the wind complex will continue to operate until it receives a new warning.

At best, the ruling will in future avoid constructions affecting indigenous peoples and their cultural right to land use. However, three weeks after the Fosen Vind judgment, plans were presented for the construction of a new wind plant in the summer grazing areas of Corgas in northern Norway, and the Samiak feared that no lessons had been learned.

(Wind farms in indigenous areas of Carola Lingaas)

Norway starts oil and gas drilling in the Arctic

Norway is the largest exporter of hydrocarbons in Western Europe, and in March this year has announced that it will be drilling for oil and gas in areas not so far explored in the Arctic Barents Sea. Despite strong opposition from environmental advocacy groups, the Norwegian Minister of Energy and Oil has stated that “the extension of explorations for the development of the oil industry to new and attractive areas is one of the pillars of government policy”. "The gigantic areas of the world's oceans remain largely unexplored and are likely to provide us with minerals and other resources yet to be discovered in the future," according to the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway.

Oil and gas account for 40% of all Norwegian exports, and the government expects companies to submit a dozen new extraction plans this year, "as a result of the tax change to facilitate investments." The Government expects sustained growth in hydrocarbon production in the coming years: "Investments will bring high and profitable production until 2030. According to current plans, then production will fall. How much and how, among other things, speed will depend on the amount of oil and gas companies will find."

Statkraft Growth Plans

Statkraft is presented as "the first European renewable energy producer", but it should be noted that almost all electricity is obtained from hydroelectric plants, exploiting the water force of the Norwegian fjords (more than 1000 fjords) and the many fast rivers that descend from the long Scandinavian mountain range on the shore. Under these conditions, Norway has been the largest producer of hydroelectric power in Europe and has historically been able to export to Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Russia and the Netherlands a significant surplus of electricity through cross-border electricity connections. In 2014 he signed an agreement with the UK to build the world’s largest underwater electricity connection, and is currently studying new lines of connection with Scotland and Germany. The largest producer is the state-owned company Statktaft, which has the largest hydroelectric plants.

Statkraft has been operating since the 1990s in the main European markets. The company entered the Iberian market in 2018, where "the growth of renewable energies, especially in the field of solar and wind forces, is one of the fundamental pillars of our plan for the period 2020-2025". In 2021, the company’s production has grown by 8% and its profits have risen to 1,591 million euros. "Thus, in 2022 we entered with sound financial strength and capacity to meet our growth ambitions" (Statkraft Performance for the Financial Year 2021). Statkraft's objective is therefore to "deploy 2,000 MW in continental Europe and 8000 MW worldwide by 2025 through wind projects and solar installations". "The Iberia region will be one of the regions that should contribute the most to this objective," he adds.

Wind project "Prada" by Sratkraft in Galicia

In the year 2021, there were demonstrations, marches and protests against the projects being processed by the Xunta for the construction of some 300 new wind plants in Galicia, many of them in areas of great natural, landscape, historical and archaeological richness. In fact, the wind power plant that Statkraft wants to build in Serra do Eixon is one of the most controversial it has generated: this project, currently called "Prada Wind Park", aims to build a few kilometers from the Peña Trevinca, the tallest mountain in Galicia, through its Zamourense Subsidiary, Development Renewables Iberia Gamma. The affected area is at an average altitude of 1,400 metres, with species such as the Iberian wolf or the real eagle. Thousands of people participated in a march called by SOS Groba. "We are not against wind power, but against mountain industrialization and a predatory energy model that benefits energy companies to the detriment of nature, landscape and people," said SOS Groba spokesman Xilberto Manso.

Statkraft plans to install 443 MW of wind power in the mountains of Ourense and Lugo, and on its website about the "Prada Wind Park" says: "With an installed capacity of 171 MW, this makes the company's largest terrestrial wind project in Spain (...) In each project in which we operate, we work on the progress of the communities through participation plans and measures to respond to local needs"... Ha!

Giant Statkraft Solar Plants

On September 13, Statkraft presented to lehendakari Urkullu and Arantxa Tapia their wind projects in Gipuzkoa on the same day, at an event held at the giant photovoltaic plant called "Talayuela Solar", the Union Española Fotovoltaica gave the "Seal of Excellence in Sustainability" to other companies such as Iberdrola Droti. This macro-infrastructure, which covers more than one million photovoltaic plates and 820 hectares, is one of the largest in Europe and is managed by Statkraft. "The solar energy produced in Talayuela will be similar to that needed to serve 150,000 households in the city of Badajoz or for the TAV Madrid-Badajoz to make 22,000 displacements a year in the future," according to the website "Welcome to Talayuela Solarra".

The construction of the macro-plant Talayuela Solar was initiated by the British Solarcentury in January 2020, later acquired by the company Statkraft, which sold it to the German Encavis. Of course, Talayuela Solar was designed to be a "reference", so an "environmental impact study" and a "corrective measure" have been carried out on the road to catastrophe, reserving 312 hectares for "environmental protection", where "swamps and floating islands have been built to nest birds", "reptile shelters", "Nature Hall", etc. Since then, Statkraft is building Talayuela II with an area of another 331 hectares, while it has launched other solar macro-projects in Extremadura, in Andalusia, in the Valencian Community (where it plans to build a mega-PV plant of 435 hectares in Vinalocastilla-La Mancha, although environmental groups have not taken legal action in Castilla y La Mancha.

Energy independence?

Jon Zayas, director of Statkraft's projects in the Basque Country, pointed out on September 29 in the Basque Country Irratia that, in addition to the wind power stations it plans to carry out in Urola and Debagoiena, "we have more projects for the Basque Country: we have to work together to achieve energy independence". He also points out that in a few days in the magazine "Uztarria" of Azpeitia: "It has been seen that self-consumption is not enough and that we need wind farms for the Basque Country to be independent in the production of energy (...) It is very important that they are energetically independent, so this type of project is necessary".

To say this is absolutely false and demagogic. In this regard, it should be noted that the Sustainability Officer of the Fagor Group has also warned that they are prepared to explore the possibilities offered by the Norwegian multinational project: "In the production plants of the Fagor group in Alto Deba, annual consumption exceeds 300 megawatts hour, a figure that if generated through wind farms, Statkraft would have to install more than 200 megawatts... but the proposed park would only generate 25 megawatts".

It is surprising, therefore, the silence in the face of this type of fraud and deception. The presentation of this type of approach by Statkraft in the Basque Country is immoral and pure manipulation. In this regard, he has reminded us of the position of the Basque Government in defending the Lemoiz nuclear power plant to supply the energy needs of the Basque Country.

In the current issue of the energy transition we are dealing with, it is necessary to rule out the perversion of renewable energies produced by industrial sectors and large corporations that develop energy alternatives with productive and developmental parameters and establish technological models accordingly. Faced with this, we must defend a decentralised energy transition model that recognises the limitations to development and consumption, de-commodification (which considers energy as a common good and not as a commodity), socially equitable and respectful of nature.