The Environmental Protection Association campaigned today, 12 March, against BKK's involvement in wind power. Representatives from Bremangerlandet and Motvind also participated.
Now the screw is being tightened against the major wind power players who are responsible for the largest and most extensive natural destruction in Norwegian history. This can no longer be accepted.
Through its 36.7% ownership in SFE, BKK is responsible for several devastating wind power projects in Western Norway, including Bremangerlandet and Lutelandet. SFE has also sold 80% of Okla and Hennøy to Italian Falck Renewables. BKK is also a 50% owner in Matre Vind AS in partnership with the wind power giant Zephyr, which has several highly conflicted and controversial wind power cases in its portfolio, including selling Guleslettene to American BlackRock.
Group CEO of Sparebanken Vest, Jan Erik Kjerpeseth, is chairman of BKK, and is thus a very central power person in the fate of nature and biological diversity in large parts of western Norway. Magne Kjerpeseth in the center party, which is the only party that wants to turn Bremangerland into an industrial area for wind power, is the father of the chairman of BKK and CEO of Sparebanken Vest, Jan Erik Kjerpeseth.
Director of BKK Produksjon, Olav Osvoll, has a long career at central NVE. There he has worked with wind power and has direct responsibility for Matre Vind AS. Olav has previously stated that wind power resistance at Stadlandet is 10 years too late.
Executive director Jannicke Hilland constantly repeats about wind power that "we have to put up with it".
Wall of wind turbines threatens bird migration
Wind power kills large numbers of birds and is a threat to sea eagles, migratory birds and several red-listed bird species. The county governor in Vestland showed how all the wind power plants along the Vestland coast were located like pearls on a string, in the middle of the birds' migration routes. Even so, the energy companies are queuing up to build more and more wind power in these routes.
The combined load of all licensed wind power plants is now shaping up to be an ecological disaster where it already seems clear that Norway is unable to meet its own national as well as international goals and obligations, including concluded and binding agreements and sustainability goals. The Norwegian administration is on its way off the cliff and the only thing the energy companies seem to care about now is making more and more quick money. The climate argument is just a substitute motive they cynically cling to. The truth is that wind power is a major climate burden if all the climate emissions it entails and costs in a life cycle perspective are taken into account.
In the one facility on Smøla alone, more than 500 birds have been killed in their encounters with the wind turbines. Most of the other wind power plants can also have similarly large homicide numbers as at Smøla, but this is neither measured nor controlled. The Norwegian administration closes its eyes to the consequences and thus believes that everything is perfectly fine...
Wind power has now sailed up to become the biggest natural intervention in Norwegian history and a very bad environmental issue for BKK and other companies.
BKK has now gone from being a popular power supplier to now getting involved in highly conflict-ridden wind power projects that are stirring up anger all over the country. This can hardly be a sustainable or winning strategy for the future. Several of BKK's owner municipalities have already issued a clear NO decision to wind power.
Today's action was just a taste of the campaigns the company will face if they continue their involvement in wind power. There is guaranteed to be more focus and more actions here.