A solar power plant the size of hundreds of football pitches is to be built in Lappeenranta – a setback for nature in the area
Large, industrial-scale solar power plants have been planned in various parts of Finland, but they have not yet been built, says the expert.
The solar power plant planned for Lappeenranta would, if implemented, have a significant impact on the natural environment of the area.
Among other things, the construction of a solar power plant would undermine the biodiversity of the area’s flora, fauna and wildlife. This information can be found in the environmental impact assessment for the solar power plant.
A large solar power plant in the Suurisuo and Huuhansuo areas of Lappeenranta is being planned by 3 Flash Finland.
Originally, the company designed the power plant area for 1,500 hectares and would have been one of the largest in Europe.
Environmental impact assessment is a process that investigates the environmental impact of the project, the implementation options and the views of the various parties. It is not a construction permit.
The solar power plant has previously raised concern in the area’s inhabitants, for example due to the impoverishment of nature values.
The size of hundreds of hectares
Two options have been assessed in the evaluation of the environmental impact of the Lappeenranta solar power plant. In one option, the size of the power plant would be 775 hectares and the other 437 hectares.
In a larger option, the solar power plant would be well over 775 football fields.
Focus on impacts
According to Puhalainen, Finland is ahead of the size of the solar power plants. The Lappeenranta solar power plant represents a new construction of an industrial scale.
\”I think that already next year, solar power plants of several hundred hectares are being built throughout Finland,\” he says.
The size of the solar power plant itself does not limit its construction. Instead, according to Puhalainen, the effects of the power plant on its environment must be considered.
Metso wetland
In a larger alternative, for example, the habitats of forest birds would be widespread. For example, Metso’s radius of about a kilometer would disappear.
– Moving the solar panel field a few hundred meters does not save the playing area. Further planning must clarify measures to safeguard the ringing area, says the Lappeenranta Environmental Board in a statement.
Even in a smaller option, solar power has a negative effect on breeding birds.
There are bats on Double Mountain
The area, designed for the solar power plant, features all large predators, and the area of \u200b\u200bthe power plant as a whole belongs to Susireviir.
However, there are bats in particular. There is a cave and a place for reproductive and resting bats in the area of \u200b\u200bTupavuori.
– Bats are part of species whose disposal of reproductive sites is prohibited. In time, it will be made to consider how to maintain the breeding ground for the bat, says Puhalainen.
Solar panel areas are mainly commercial forest, drained marsh and peat production areas surrounded by wooded hills.
If mainly a wooded area is converted into a solar panel field, existing habitat types and vegetation will be lost.
– The solar power plant completely changes the current landscape when the trees are removed, says Puhalainen.
On the other hand, according to him, there are no extensive empty areas in Southeast Finland that large solar power plants could be established without the forest.