Debate, Power | What significance will it have for residents in the nearby areas if wind power is built in Larvik and up towards Skrim?

It is well known that the Google center will entail a significant need for power, and that this necessarily entails a need for power development. As of now, it is known that Fritzøe energi together with Hydro Rein wants to utilize Fritzøe’s forests for wind/solar power. Fritzøe forests have properties in Bamble, Holmestrand, Kongsberg, Porsgrunn, Siljan, Larvik and Skien. In a possible development of wind power, Porsgrunn and Skien are excluded, as these municipalities have said no to the development of wind power in the current political period.

This entails the development of wind power and/or solar power in the areas from Larvik towards the Skrim nature reserve (Skrim-Sauheradsfjella nature reserve – Wikipedia) in Vestfold and Telemark.

Let’s start with the fact that the nature crisis is increasingly being pointed to, as a crisis as big and serious as the climate crisis, and in the wake of this it is increasingly important to prioritize how nature is used (We depend on diversity – Sabima). In this perspective, it seems strange to put wind power in the immediate vicinity of a nature reserve, as it is pointed out that this is an area with little or no intervention in recent times and is therefore a well-preserved old-growth forest, something that also applies to several areas within Siljan and Kongsberg towards Skrim (Save the old forest – Sabima). The fact that the areas are a rare type of habitat that contains several red-listed species indicates that it is important to preserve the biological diversity in the area and nearby areas. As of today, 48% of the red-listed species in Norway are linked to forests, and especially old forests or untouched forests (https://www.regjeringen.no/no/dokumenter/nou-2024-2/id3024887/)

Old-growth forests retain a lot of carbon dioxide and are thus, together with other nature, an important factor in the face of the climate crisis. Interventions in this type of nature will result in the release of an unknown amount of greenhouse gases. In relation to the climate crisis, intervention in this type of nature is not desirable, as conservation of the biological diversity in the areas actually helps us in the fight against the climate crisis (Old forests can be important for carbon sequestration – Nibio)

The area that the developer wants developed is an area that is used a lot for recreation and outdoor life, and both summer and winter it is actively used by people from both the Vestfold side, Grenland and Lågendalen/Sandsvær.

Here, for example, you have the Vindfjell co-operative ski trail network and DNT has cabins and a network of trails in the area (for example, Presteseter between Vindfjell and Omholtfjell). The cabin areas on Skrim/Omholtfjell and the ski slopes in this area, where cabin owners and hikers will have a fundamentally different experience if the wind turbines in Fritzøe forests become a reality.

The attractiveness for use of the area will be greatly reduced by the construction of wind power, due to visual dominance, noise and the extensive natural interventions that will accompany a development. In particular, the sound from wind turbines where the blades at the extreme points move at almost 300km/h is bothersome and disturbing, and makes the area significantly less attractive to move around in.

Of course, this also means that houses and cottages in the area will fall in value, become less attractive to use and difficult to sell. We can say this with great certainty on the basis of previous wind power developments elsewhere in the country.

In conclusion, mention must be made of the visual dominance that 225m-250m high turbines entail, meaning that the plant will be visible from a long distance from where they are built, and it will therefore affect many in the surrounding areas purely visually.

The Skrim/Vindfjell areas are the tenderloin of our region’s forest nature, and of great importance with regard to both natural values ​​and outdoor life, recreation and public health – in other words, “this is our Nordmarka”. Do we really have to sacrifice this irreplaceable area to power Google? Do we really want that?

So in conclusion, the question is: Will politicians in the relevant areas allow a development in their municipality? So politicians in Vestfold: What do you say about wind power in Vestfold and in the border areas towards Telemark and Buskerud?