Sonkajärvi Municipal Council has rejected one of three wind power projects planned for the municipality. Some members of the municipal council voted against their own proposal.
Three wind power projects were on the agenda of the Sonkajärvi Municipal Council on Monday. The council unanimously approved two of the projects, but not the third.
The Municipal Council decided by a vote of 14-7 that the wind power project planned by Ilmatar Sonkajärvi Oy for Huttusenlehto will be stopped. The wind power company was planning 20-25 wind turbines in the area.
The vote was split along party lines, and some members of the municipal council also voted against the motion they had approved in the municipal council.
– It was a position review, Mäkinen puts it.
He works as a presenter in the municipal board.
The Citizen’s Resource Pack had an impact
Kantola was worried about what kind of effects the planned wind farm would have on nature and tourism in the area.
He prepared a 21-page information package with plenty of pictures and links to videos.
– I pointed out the disadvantages caused by wind turbines, such as the anti-aircraft lights, says Kantola.
According to Kantola, the wind turbines would have reached more than 300 meters at their highest, i.e. they would have been as tall as Finland’s tallest building.
– The area would have been located in the middle of Sonkajärvi’s most important cottage lake, so the view area would have been very significant.
According to the mayor, the council had a long discussion about the issue. In addition to the holiday settlement, Jyrkä tourism and the Viloki path were also on display, i.e. the very points that Kantola had brought up in his own material package.
According to Juho Kantola, the wind farm would have come in the middle of Sonkajärvi’s richest nature.
– It would have been a blow to current and future tourism companies, summarizes Kantola.
He says he is happy that an individual municipal citizen can play a role in decision-making in this way.
– Municipal policy can be influenced if you can get to know the issue and look for reasonable arguments.