Vantaa committee backs environmental review of power line project

Yle reports that a proposed power line in western Vantaa could be delayed by several years after a city licensing committee supported a detailed environmental impact assessment of the project.

Vantaa Energy Electricity Networks is planning a roughly 14-kilometre, 100-kilovolt overhead line between the Keimola and Aviapolis substations to meet rising electricity demand and secure transmission capacity for the future.

Residents in Kiila, Lapinkylä, Kivistö and Keimola have strongly opposed the plan because parts of the route would pass only a few dozen metres from homes. They have proposed alternative routes, an underground cable instead of an overhead line and a comprehensive environmental assessment.

The permits and supervisory authority will decide whether the project must undergo an environmental impact assessment. It requested a statement from Vantaa’s health and environmental protection authorities.

The statement approved on Tuesday by the licensing committee of Vantaa’s Urban Environment Board supports carrying out the assessment. It says construction would have significant negative effects on Krakanoja, a stream known for trout, as well as on two small brooks in Lapinkylä.

The planned line would also cross an important flying squirrel corridor at three points. In addition, the Seutula fields have been designated as a regionally valuable bird area, and the line would create a new obstacle for birds.

The case could have wider implications because electricity consumption in southern Finland is rising sharply and more power lines are being planned within urban areas. If the Vantaa project is subjected to an environmental impact assessment, the reasoning could serve as a precedent for other projects in Finland.

“As far as we know, this is the first environmental impact assessment that is so well justified that it could be approved. This would be a terrible setback for the energy industry,” said Ture Tähtinen, a representative of a residents’ group opposing the project.

Tähtinen and Timo Lahti, chair of the Vantaa committee’s licensing division, discussed the issue on Yle’s Radio Suomi lähelläsi programme on Monday.