Estonia’s top court revokes Hiiumaa wind farms plan
Estonian news - eteap August 8, 2018
Baltic News Service. 8th of August, 2018
The Supreme Court of Estonia on Wednesday revoked a plan concerning prospective offshore near Hiiumaa, the second largest island of Estonia, finding that the impact of wind turbines and undersea cables on the environment has not been established and relevant studies have not been carried out.
The Supreme Court ruled on an appeal in cassation by the nonprofit MTU Hiiu Tuul bringing together opponents of the wind generating project, which sought cancelation of the order of the Hiiu county governor issued on June 20, 2016 by which the plan for the maritime area was established.
The plan set out areas for the production of , as well as offered guidelines for the development of transport, fishery, and tourism. The appeal in cassation by MTU Hiiu Tuul and other persons contested the permission to establish in the costal sea off Hiiumaa.
According to the top court, failure to offer a precise enough assessment of the environmental impact cannot be substantiated with the argument that the plans of the developers and details of their actions in implementing the plan, such as the number of turbines, their capacity and height, are not known for certain. It said that in assessing the impact of a plan it is crucial what activity, at what location and on what scale the state is planning and considering possible in principle in the plan, not on what scale and how exactly the developers will actually carry out the plan. Abstract nature of the planned solution definitely can not justify not conducting a study of the current environmental situation, according to the top court.
The court found that in the framework of the strategic environmental impact assessment, the impacts of the wind turbines as well as the cables connecting them with the mainland and their links to other activities have not been established and relevant surveys conducted. This includes failure to conduct an assessment necessary to determine the impacts of the planned activities on Natura areas and protected species. Therefore the decision to establish the plan is not legitimate, according to the Supreme Court.
Based on the above, the Supreme Court revoked the portion of the order of the Hiiu county governor from June 20, 2016 concerning the areas for the production of , leaving other portions of it in force.
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