Baltic Sea Case
In 2009, Nelja Energia proposed to build wind farms off the coast of Hiiumaa in Estonia with a production capacity of 1100 MW. The offshore wind energy (OSWE) proposal was incorporated into the Hiiumaa marine spatial planning (MSP) processes that began in 2012 and was adopted in 2016. However, Hiiumaa coastal communities and some municipalities actively contested the OSWE proposal in court in 2016. Although two administrative court decisions ruled in favor of the OSWE plan, a subsequent Supreme Court ruling in August 2018 annulled the previous decisions and consequently, the OSWE plan, asking for detailed environmental and social impact studies. The OSWE firm (currently Enefit Green) is considering a new planning process amidst tensions with coastal residents and a very concerned Ministry of Environment.
In OCEANS PACT we deploy a transdisciplinary co-production approach both to understand what drives the OSWE conflict in Estonia and to jointly harness conflict as an opportunity for social learning and capacity-building toward the institutionalization of co-produced pathways to sustainability transformations. We are thus building collaborations with local actors such as marine planners, OSWE, coastal communities and municipal authorities, the Ministry of Environment and civil society, as well as with Baltic Sea intergovernmental organizations such as the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) and Vision and Strategies Around the Baltic Sea (VASAB).
Responsible partner: Södertörn University, Sweden
Contact
Michael Gilek:
Fred Saunders:
Ralph Tafon: