– The case is well known in the public eye, and it will be up to the police whether they want to start an investigation into the case, says lawyer Eirik Brønner to Technical Weekly.
He represents the siida in Sør-Fosen.
Professor emeritus Inge Lorange Backer has stated that the wind power developers at Fosen can in principle be punished for illegal use of property because they continued to operate after October 2021. Then there was a Supreme Court judgment which recognized that the licensing decisions for the two wind power plants Roan and Storheia were invalid, as they contravenes the minority protection of the reindeer husbandry Sami in the area.
– Siida agrees with Backer that illegal use can in principle also be punishable, but has chosen to prioritize other aspects of the case and has therefore not reported the matter, says lawyer Jon-Andreas Lange, who represents Nord-Fosen siida.
Professor of public law, Alf Petter Høgberg, has also stated that the ongoing operation of the power plants may be punishable. The wind developers themselves do not agree with that.
– Based on our lawyers’ assessments, we clearly disagree that it is a criminal offense to leave the wind turbines at Fosen standing or to produce from them while the Ministry of Oil and Energy’s (OED) process is ongoing, both under public and private law, says communications officer Geir Fuglseth in Fosen Vind.