Fingrid will launch EIA process on a new transmission line route

New transmission line to secure electricity transmission in Lapland. Fingrid Oyj, which is responsible for the main electricity transmission grid in Finland, will launch an environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedure for the new 220 kilovolt (kV) transmission line route from the Petäjäskoski substation via Kaukonen to the substation situated in conjunction with the Vajukoski hydropower station.
The route alternatives of the planned transmission line are located within Rovaniemi, Kittilä and Sodankylä. The length of the new transmission line is approx. 235 kilometres.

The Electricity Market Act obliges Fingrid Oyj to develop the Finnish grid. Electricity consumption in Lapland has grown and will continue to do so according to forecasts especially in the Ylläs, Levi and Rovaniemi regions. A 220 kV grid reinforcement has been planned from Petäjäskoski (Rovaniemi) via Valajaskoski to Kaukonen (Kittilä) and further to Vajukoski (Sodankylä) in order to reduce the loading of transmission lines as a result of long transmission distances and continuous increase in consumption. The plan also covers the construction of a 220/110 kV substation at Kaukonen.

The transmission line route has one main alternative

The main alternative of the transmission line is situated parallel with the existing transmission line from Petäjäskoski to Kaukonen. Approx. 60 kilometres of the line route will be situated in a new right-of-way between Kaukonen and Sattanen. From Sattanen to Vajukoski, the new line will again run parallel with the existing transmission line. The secondary alternatives studied are two route sections of less than 10 kilometres in the Tollovuoma area in Kittilä and near the Petäjäskoski substation.

The EIA process will be launched by the preparation of an assessment programme. The assessment programme contains a description of the present state of the project area and information on which impacts will be assessed and how the studies and assessments will be made. The completed assessment programme will be communicated in local newspapers and delivered to the Regional Environment Centre of Lapland, which serves as the contact authority. The Regional Environment Centre will be responsible for announcing the matter and requesting the necessary statements, and it will also give its own statement of the assessment programme. The EIA consultant in the project is Maa ja Vesi Oy.

Public events in Rovaniemi, Kittilä and Sodankylä

The contents of the assessment programme and the route alternatives of the planned transmission line will be presented in Fingrid’s public events in Kittilä on 28 February, in Sodankylä on 1 March and in Rovaniemi on 2 March 2006.The exact times and places of the events will be announced through separate notices in local newspapers.

The Internet pages of the project are available on the Internet (in Finnish only) at www.fingrid.fi (Ympäristö ja voimajohdot =>YVA-menettelyt). The pages also contain relevant maps.

Further information:
Lauri Erävuori, Environmental Specialist, tel. +358 (0)30 395 5178, +358 (0)40 546 6308
Hannu Ylönen, Line Route Specialist, tel. +358 (0)30 395 5259, +358 (0)400 219 930