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Clean energy for EU islands
Regulatory informationPermits and authorisation processes

Administrative authorization process

Abbreviated form of legal source

  • Land Use and Building Act
  • Act 764/2019
  • Aviation Act
  • EIA Act

Description of the process

Spatial planning
If the existing master plan does not allow for the construction of the RES installation right away, the plan has to be changed. The changing of the spatial plan consists of four stages: initiating, preparation, proposal and adoption. The competent authority is the municipality, in which the installation would be built. In the initiating stage, the plan for public participation and the scale of impact assessment necessary are mapped out. In the preparation stage, the necessary assessments are conducted and a public hearing is oragnised. Once final, the proposed spatial plan will be made available for comments. Finally, the municipality zoning board will decide on whether to adopt the proposal. After the decision, the public can still file complaints about the decision.
Onshore wind: The costs of changing the master plan are borne by the project developer.
The same impact assessment studies (e.g., EIA) can often be used for both spatial planning and the environmental permit processes.
Environmental permit
Not all RES installations require an environmental permit as the permit is primarily intended for activities that may cause pollution to the natural elements around, such as groundwater, air, or land. RES installations may require a permit if they cause significant noise or light interference to local residents; this may ring true to, for example, onshore wind or geothermal projects. Geothermal or ambient heat installations may cause interference to underground water systems, which may constitute grounds for obtaining an environmental permit.
The permit procedure begins with submitting all application documents to the Regional State Administrative Agency online. A public hearing will be organised before the decision is taken by the Regional State Administrative Agency.
Environmental permits belong to the set of permits that can be applied for using a joint procedure (Act 764/2019). In the joint procedure, all relevant applications are submitted at the same time using the same online platform, and public hearings are organised jointly. All competent authorities will also ask for additional documents simultaneously, if needed, and all decisions are published at the same time.
Environmental impact assessment (EIA)
Not all RES installations require an EIA and therefore, the first step of the process is to consult the regional Ely-keskus, which is the authority in charge for determining whether an EIA will be necessary based on the preliminary information about the project provided by the developer (arts 9–11, EIA Act). The regional Ely-keskus is the competent authority for the EIA process, including coordination and monitoring.
EIA process consists of two stages. In the program stage, the type and amount of assessments, and public participation is determined. In the review stage, the assessments are conducted and their results are combined into an EIA review.
Onshore wind: An EIA will only be necessary if the local residents would be impacted by the light and noise caused by the turbines, or if the project is located in/near a protected are or a prominent bird migration route. These scenarios can be avoided with a careful site selection. If the park consists of 10 turbines or more, an EIA is always necessary.
Ambient heat and geothermal: Emerging technologies, such as these two, may face difficulties in the EIA process as authorities and stakeholders are not familiar with the technology.
EIA can be conducted jointly with environmental permits.
Construction permit
In order to be admissible for the construction permit application, the municipality’s zoning plan has to be compatible with the intended RES installation (see the spatial planning section).
The construction permit process goes as following: first, the applicant will submit all necessary documents to the municipality’s construction inspection authority. The applicant also has to announce having entered into the process to the neighbours’ of the property in order for them to comment on the construction plan. Municipal authorities will either reject or accept the construction permit application. In case changes in the zoning plan have not become official yet, a conditional permit can be issued. The applicant is responsible for covering the costs of construction permit inspection and monitoring, or other administrative costs.
The construction works can only begin when all necessary permits have been acquired and deadline for submitting a complaint to either of them has passed. The construction permit is usually an uncomplicated procedure unless it is slowed down by neighbours’ complaints.
Obstacle permit (onshore wind only)
Constructions constituting a potential hazard for air traffic are required to apply for an obstacle permit from Traficom. The first step on the application process is acquiring a statement from the air traffic service provider, and, in case of a location at sea or on the coastline, another from the Finnish Border Guard. The statements are attached to the obstacle permit application submitted to Traficom. Traficom will assess if the project is in compliance with flickering and signaling regulations.
Water permit
RES installations that have the potential to interfere with water bodies (both surface and groundwater) may be required to obtain a water permit. Especially ambient heat and geothermal installations belong to this group.
The water permit is applied for from the relevant Regional State Administrative Agency and the process can be conducted jointly with spatial planning, EIA and environmental permit (Act 764/2019).
Small-scale devices
Most of the procedures described above do not apply to very small RES installations that are connected to the 24kV distribution grid. There is no specific upper limit in installed power.
As Finnish municipalities enjoy a large degree of autonomy regarding the application of permitting procedures falling under the Land Use and Building Act, municipal construction inspection authorities have to be consulted in order to find out whether a construction or an action permit may be required. Action permit is a “light” version of the construction permit, and it is granted to small, non-interfering installations or new parts to an already existing building (art. 126 Land Use and Construction Act).

Competent authority

  • Municipalities
  • Regional State Administrative Agencies
  • Traficom
  • Ely-keskus

Technologies

Wind energy onshore

Relevant for wind energy onshore

Wind energy offshore
Solar energy
Solar Thermal
Geothermal energy
Geothermal energy

Relevant for geothermal energy

Aerothermal

Relevant for ambient heat (large installations)

Hydrothermal
Hydro-power
Biogas
Biogas
Biomass