Green energy transition in the Faroe Islands is moving too slowly

The transition to green energy in the Faroe Islands is progressing too slowly because there is no overall plan for energy development, according to the business organisation Vinnuhúsið and energy company SEV, as reported by Kringvarp Føroya.

“The longer we postpone the green energy transition, the longer we remain dependent on oil,” said Súsanna Berg, an adviser at Vinnuhúsið.

She said delays to wind farms had created additional costs for everyone. Berg made the comments in the fourth episode of the radio series “Islands under pressure”, broadcast on 27 July.

She called for energy development to be organised as one large project, allowing several developments to be worked on at the same time.

“We need to establish where renewable energy should be produced and which studies need to be carried out. If there were a land-use plan for the Faroe Islands setting out where industry, housing and energy developments should be located, everyone would know which areas were suitable for each purpose,” Berg said.

Hákun Djurhuus, SEV’s director, also said the development of renewable energy was moving far too slowly.

“We believe it is going far too slowly. Someone has calculated that each project takes an average of five years. It should take no more than two years,” he said.

Djurhuus said a general plan for energy development, with all necessary matters examined at the outset, would eliminate the need for lengthy permit processes for each individual project.

He also said all nature in the Faroe Islands should be mapped so that a land-use plan could be created for the islands.

“An energy filter as part of such a land-use plan would make everything simpler. One problem now is that the environmental authority is often the last body required to approve developments. It is effectively put under pressure and then has to process the cases as quickly as possible,” Djurhuus said.