Náttúrugrið files appeal against wind power plant license at Búrfell in Iceland

Environmental Issues: Appeal Filed Against Wind Power Plant License at Búrfell

The environmental organization Náttúrugrið has submitted an appeal concerning the operating license for the wind power plant at Búrfell to the Environmental and Natural Resources Complaints Commission. The group argues that the facility should never have been classified as a power plant.

Náttúrugrið contends that the proposed wind farm would be located in Iceland’s central highlands, negatively impacting the experience of travelers and influencing areas far beyond the immediate site.

During the final discussions of the framework plan in Parliament in 2022, Búrfellslundur was moved from a waiting category to a power generation category. According to Náttúrugrið, the majority in the Parliament’s Environment and Transport Committee acted against scientific recommendations from the framework project management.

The local municipality has also filed an appeal against the operating license, claiming that fundamental principles of nature conservation laws, laws on water management, special protections for lava fields, and national planning policies were ignored. It further states that various legal provisions related to the environmental assessment of the project were violated.