Negotiations with the landowner

In Finland, it is possible to build only in an area of which the contractor has a right of possession. For this reason, the necessary reservations for land areas are made immediately at the start of a wind power project. A land area can be purchased or leased – such as is done in most cases. At first, a land area may be subject to a lighter land use agreement. After wind measurements and other, more detailed studies of the area for its suitability have been conducted, this lighter land use agreement may be turned into a lease agreement or an agreement for compensation of limited land use right.

Further information about compensation to land owners (in Finnish).

Land lease can be paid as a fixed, one-off compensation or as annual lease. The lease can also be tied to the generated energy or it can be a combination of the above. In the agreement, it is worth agreeing, for example, on the impacts of a change of generation, distribution of inheritance and other changes of ownership, as well as matters related to the end of the turbine life cycle.

Communication plays an important role

When looking for a project area, the land use situation of the area is also always established, and it is ensured at the same time that the areas are not subject to protection plans or the municipality has not planned other use for the area. There must be an excellent understanding of the progress of the permitting process and the likelihood of success already when choosing the location and during the negotiations on land acquisition in order to provide the land owner a description of the plans for taking the project forward. A responsible project operator keeps the land owner up-to-date on project development and stages throughout the project duration.

It is also possible to build wind power on state-owned land. The state-owned land and sea areas are administered by Metsähallitus, which is the authority to negotiate and agree with in relation to any building on state-owned land. Metsähallitus also carries out its own wind power project development in state-owned land and sea areas.