Regulator: Ailangantunturi pumped storage plant would turn natural area into industrial zone

A Finnish regulatory authority has concluded that a proposed pumped storage hydropower plant on Ailangantunturi mountain would fundamentally alter the area’s natural state, transforming it into an industrial-like environment.

The Permit and Supervision Authority (LVV) issued its assessment of Kemijoki Oy’s environmental impact report for the project, stating that the facility would have significant effects on the hydrology and fish stocks of Lake Kemijärvi, as well as on local bird and plant species and the Ottavaara Natura 2000 site.

Construction of the upper reservoir on Ailangantunturi would also disrupt the habitat of an endangered bird of prey, while the tailings pond would require the removal of protected plant species, including the globally threatened Dactylorhiza lapponica (Lapland orchid). The authority recommends monitoring groundwater conditions during construction and scheduling work outside the bird’s nesting season.

Four pumped storage plants are planned for the Kemijärvi water system, but the city council adopted a resolution in February effectively banning them within municipal boundaries. Despite this, Kemijoki Oy has initiated the permitting phase for the Ailangantunturi project, which has been granted EU Project of Common Interest status, enabling priority processing and access to EU funding.

LVV noted that the environmental assessment met legal requirements but lacked detailed analysis of the cumulative impacts of multiple pumped storage projects in the area.