Representatives from the land use department at Regional Council of Kainuu participated an international workshop on wind energy on 14 October 2020. The event focused on joint innovation solutions for the future energy needs of Northern regions. The event was organized in cooperation with the Northern (Arctic) Federal University (NArFu) and University of Tromso – the Arctic University of Norway (UiT). The Regional Council of Kainuu took a part in the workshop also through their own ongoing project “Northern Axis – Barents Link” (NABL), which is being implemented in two years with the support of the Kolarctic CBC 2014-2020 Programme. Among the participants there were scientists, professors, experts, PhD students, master students from NArFu and Uit and coordinators of joint wind energy projects from the University of Oulu.
Aim of the workshop was to address challenges related to wind energy and contribute to assessment of wind energy potential, explore wind-driven power-plant operations in cold climates and develop technologies to minimize impact of ice and snow on wind turbines. Workshop is a synergetic event of the NABL work package 7, which is focusing on energy for remote territories along Northern Axis-Barents Link. The expected result of the work package is the concept of using the wind energy potential with a view to securing normal living conditions in remote areas along the international transport corridor and further on to the Northern Sea route and Asia.
NABL WP7 presentation by Aleksei Kangash (pdf)
The topic of wind power is a very timely one in general. In the case of Regional Council of Kainuu, it is also interesting due to the current revision of the regional land use plan related to wind power. The workshop participants exchanged opinions on modeling wind energy potential, discussed experimental research on wind turbines, as well as evaluation and installation of wind turbines in the north. This workshop is another step to providing added value to the NABL project. The joint effort of several international projects will also provide the local experts with the new knowledge and technologies and may help to unlock the wind energy potential for better and cleaner future.
