Court will hear Püssi wind farm challenge in November

Estonia’s Tartu Administrative Court will hear a challenge to the planned Püssi wind farm on November 27, ERR reports. Developer Evecon has a construction permit for the project, but local residents have taken its detailed plan to court.

The 87-megawatt wind farm is planned near Püssi in Ida-Viru County, with turbines reaching 300 metres. Evecon plans to begin construction soon and expects the facility to start operating in summer 2028.

Several local non-profit associations have challenged the plan. One of them, the NGO Keskkonnasõbralik Lüganuse, declined to comment on its appeal before the hearing.

Evecon CEO Karl-Joonatan Kvell said the main obstacle to wind farm development was opposition from residents. He said plans and construction permits approved over the past two years were all facing court challenges, while no wind farm construction had started in Estonia in the past three years and no new investments had been made.

Lüganuse mayor Dmitri Dmitrijev acknowledged that the wind farm would have an environmental impact, but said its benefits would be greater. He said renewable energy could attract other businesses, including a possible gas plant, battery storage and data centres, creating a cluster linked mainly to the energy sector.