Court cancels water permit for Enefit offshore wind farm

Tallinn Administrative Court has annulled the Environmental Board’s decision granting Enefit a water permit for the planned wind farm in the coastal waters of northwestern Estonia, ruling that the board lacked authority to issue it, ERR reported.

The ruling followed a complaint by the Hiiu Tuul association. The permit would have allowed Enefit to carry out construction work on the seabed at two sites north of Hiiumaa, while the board refused permission for a third site.

The permit process began in 2006, when the Environment Ministry was responsible for issuing the permit. After legislation transferred that authority to the Environmental Board, it did not specify which body should complete proceedings already under way. The court said the general rule required the authority that had handled a case to finish it. In this instance, that meant the Climate Ministry, not the Environmental Board.

The court did not find the permit unlawful because a national special spatial plan for the wind farm was absent. The permit allowed seabed works in principle, but work could not begin until other required permits, including a building permit, had been granted. The court also did not examine Hiiu Tuul’s claims about errors in the environmental impact assessment, saying the lack of authority was sufficient to annul the permit.

The judgment has not yet taken effect. An appeal may be filed with the Tallinn Circuit Court within 30 days.