A large wind farm is planned for the open sea off Pietarsaari and Kokkola.
The EIA statements of the planned Laine wind farm in front of Pietarsaari and Kokkola draw attention to numerous concerns, for example water quality and underwater nature and winter shipping.
Wind power company OX2 plans to build a maximum of 150 power plants in the sea about 30 kilometers away from Pietarsaari. There are also plans for hydrogen production.
There are several route options for bringing electricity to the mainland via cables and connecting it to Fingrid’s main grid. The lines would therefore possibly be drawn to the areas of Pietarsaari, Uudenkaarlepy, Pedersör, Kruunupy and Kokkola or only some of them.
Hydrogen would be brought to the mainland either through the port of Pietarsaari or Uudenkaarlepyi via Kanäs.
According to the statement of Ely of South Ostrobothnia, the project must pay attention to joint effects and the project’s effects on water quality, underwater nature and landscape, and shipping, especially in winter. Attention must also be paid to the transmission of electricity.
The Ely center commented, for example, that the need for Natura evaluations has not been sufficiently clarified in the project. Such a thing could be in place, for example, in the Natura area of \u200b\u200bÄhtävänjoki, where the electricity transmission route would seem to pass through areas of occurrence of scum.
According to Metsähallitus, on the other hand, in the case of electricity transmission lines, there are no METSO sites marked on the mainland where nature conservation areas will be established. Also in the sea area, some of the protected sites under Metsähallitus are missing.
Ely-keskus, Väylävirasto and Traficom state that the wind farm’s effects on shipping should be investigated extensively, with an examination that crosses state borders.
The Ely center states that the project must take into account the risks of winter shipping. In the event of an accident, the ship can quickly drift into the wind farm area in a moving ice field, which is a safety risk.
Next, the project’s environmental impact assessment procedure proceeds to the explanation phase. It assesses the environmental effects of the project in detail and takes into account the statements and opinions given so far. The wind power company has established a maritime working group for this purpose, whose members include maritime authorities.
OX2 estimates that the wind farm will be built in the late 2020s. Its annual electricity production is estimated to be around 11 terawatt hours, which, according to OX2, is more than the 2020 annual yield of Olkiluoto kakkonen.