Climate Ministry's plan may lead to some deforestation

TALLINN - The Estonian government decided this week to put 8,500 hectares of state land up for auction for wind farm developers, which may lead to some deforestation in areas managed by the state forest management company RMK, Postimees reports.

On Thursday, the Climate Ministry announced that auctions for state land suitable for wind energy development will begin in November. The land can only be used for the construction of wind farms, with a usage period of up to 39 years.

Approximately 85 square kilometers of state land across various regions will be put up for auction, where it is estimated that up to 1,100 MW of wind energy production capacity could be installed, according to the Climate Ministry. Suitable areas must undergo planning and permitting processes before the wind farms can be built, or if no planning process is currently underway, such a process must be initiated.

"Until now, land-based wind farms have primarily been planned on private land, but now developers will have access to state lands that could not previously be used for wind farm construction. This is an important decision that will help increase the capacity for clean electricity production and achieve renewable energy goals. We have thoroughly examined the state lands and mapped areas where the impact on nature and people is minimized," Climate Minister Yoko Alender said.

Since these state lands are under the management of RMK, Postimees investigated how many wind farms will be built on current forest areas.

Jaarek Konsa, head of RMK's development and climate department, explained that RMK does not only manage forest land. However, regarding the wind farms mentioned by the Climate Ministry, the specific positions of the turbines are not yet known. Because there are no standard solutions for wind farms, the details will be clarified during the work process.

"Installing turbines on RMK land means that, depending on the final location of the turbine, it may, in certain cases, require deforestation. The precise location of the turbines and the need for deforestation, along with the associated environmental impacts and necessary mitigation measures, will be determined during the planning processes," Konsa said.

He added that generally, the construction and planning of turbines on forest land avoids or minimizes deforestation as much as possible. Depending on the turbine, approximately one to two hectares may be need to be deforested for the installation and maintenance of each turbine.

"With nearly 200 turbines and a total development area of around 8,500 hectares, this would mean deforestation of only up to 400 hectares, or less than five percent. We emphasize that there are also non-forest lands within these areas, including arable land. Therefore, not all turbines may be situated on forest land, and the need for deforestation may thus be significantly reduced. It should also be considered that modern turbines are tall and do not require as much free space beneath the blades. For example, in the environmental impact assessment of the Põlendmaa wind farm, it was noted that deforestation is not necessary for the entire span of the turbine blade because the blade's reach is higher than the height of the trees," Konsa noted.

The areas suitable for wind farms were identified by the Environment Agency. These areas are located in the municipalities of Türi, Väike-Maarja, Vinni, Kose, Paide, Põhja-Sakala, Haljala, Kadrina, Järva, Põltsamaa, Viljandi, Lääne-Harju, Järva, Rapla, Valga, Tõrva, Kose, Alutaguse, Lüganuse, Viru-Nigula, Mulgi, and Lääne-Nigula. The studies were funded by EU funds allocated under Estonia's recovery and resilience plan.