Opposition MPs against mass wind farms off Estonia's coasts
The debate over offshore wind farms in Estonia is warming up, and opposition politicians have cautioned about the projects undermining national defense capabilities.
National security must take precedence over renewable energy expansion, they add.
Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) and some defense officials, however, have said that the risks can be mitigated via collaboration and technological solutions.
Opposition politicians in the Riigikogu, including EKRE MP Anti Poolamets and Center Party MP Lauri Laats, said they strongly oppose the construction of offshore wind farms.
Speaking to "Aktuaalne kaamera," Poolamets voiced concerns that wind farms would disrupt military radar systems, stating, "if Sweden decided that wind farms do severely disrupt military radars, then we must do the same."
"We simply cannot allow ourselves to be blind to this. We are essentially NATO's early warning system. We are Germany's early warning system. We are America's early warning system," Poolamets continued.
Laats echoed these sentiments, saying: "Security is the number one priority. As for energy, there is already a solution."
Prime Minister Michal, however, rejected these concerns, stressing that the potential security risks posed by offshore wind farms could be mitigated, if careful planning and cooperation were carried out.
"The Ministry of Defense, together with the Estonian Defense Forces and energy specialists, must find ways to compensate for disturbances caused by various infrastructure facilities in warning systems, surveillance systems, and elsewhere," the prime minister told "Aktuaalne kaamera."
"It is viable to mitigate this negative impact in a way that does not endanger security and still allows people to benefit from cheaper electricity," he went on.
Meanwhile Kalev Stoicescu (Eesti 200), who chairs the Riigikogu's National Defense Committee, concurred with this, saying: "We need to look at things comprehensively... there is still hope of finding an amenable technical solution."
Despite these assurances, the opposition is unconvinced, and some lawmakers are calling for a halt to wind farm projects. Laats argued that Estonia could rely on oil shale, saying, "We don't need to build offshore wind farms. We have the oil shale sector. We can manage perfectly well without offshore wind farms."
The discussion is set to continue at the Riigikogu next week with a joint meeting of the economic affairs and defense committees next, in which the government hopes to find a compromise that balances both energy needs and security risks.
Several leading military officers including the current EDF commander have expressed concerns in recent days over the construction of large scale offshore wind turbine batteries, citing security concerns, mainly that the turbines could interfere with defense radar and other early-warning systems.
--
Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!
Editor: Andrew Whyte, Mari Peegel
Source: 'Aktuaalne kaamera,' reporter Anne Raiste.