The Western Reindeer Herding District and wind energy companies met in cooperation on 27-28 January.

There is pressure in Finland to increase the minimum distances between wind power plants and settlements. This means a growing interest in finding sites for power plants in the sparsely populated reindeer husbandry area, which covers more than a third of Finland’s territory. However, the areas that look empty on the map are the most important areas for reindeer husbandry, the quiet areas of calving and grazing. There are therefore major tensions between wind power and reindeer husbandry.

The Western Reindeer Herding District and the wind energy companies planning projects in the area met for a two-day cooperation meeting on 27-28 January 2025 in LappeanLohi, Kolari. The meeting was jointly organised by Akordi, Reindeer Herders’ Association and Renewables Finland.

The meeting discussed the cumulative effects of land use changes on reindeer husbandry and the current situation and development needs of assessing the combined effects of different projects.

How can reindeer husbandry and wind power projects be fairly coordinated?

A concrete idea that emerged from the discussions was to bring the different project actors to a joint meeting at a Reindeer Herding Cooperative. Together, the reindeer herders can explain how areas in different parts of the Cooperative are used in different seasons and how reindeer move between these areas. In this way, the project actors gain an overview of the overall situation in the Cooperative and see their own project as part of it.

Companies want to improve the consideration of cumulative impacts and the level of impact assesment on reindeer husbandry, for example through quality criteria in calls for tenders.

Participants in the cooperation meeting in The Western Reindeer Herding District included Jääskön Paliskunta, Kolari Paliskunta, Lohijärvi Paliskunta, Orajärvi Paliskunta, Palojärvi Paliskunta, Energiequelle Finland, Eolus Finland, Etha Oy, Myrsky Energia, OX2, Taaleri Energia, Winda Energy, wpd Suomi Oy & VSB Group.