Estonian police impose prohibition on stay to stop construction work at Aidu wind farm

TALLINN - The Estonian Police and Border Guard Board on Friday declared the territory of the Aidu wind farm being developed by brothers Oleg and Andres Sonajalg off-limits after the developer had refused to comply with an order to stop the constriction work, Postimees said.

The order to stop the work had been issued by the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority.

"Based on the materials forwarded to us by the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority, the Police and Border Guard Board imposed a prohibition on stay in the Aidu wind farm from today through April 22," spokespeople for the Police and Border Guard Board told Postimees. 

A spokesperson for the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority, Anne-Mai Helemae, said that construction work at Aidu continued also on Friday despite the order issued to the developer and the warning to impose a penalty payment.

"The Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority has been keeping an eye on the situation, and the state of play we recorded today demonstrated that continuation of the construction activity would entail irreversible damage," Helemae said.

The Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority on April 12 issued an order for construction activity at the wind farm to be stopped, and an official of the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority delivered the order physically to the wind farm on April 16.

The main reason for the issuance of the order is an assessment according to which the construction of the wind farm would pose a threat to national security.

The Ministry of Defense has previously said that putting up large wind turbines in said area of northeastern Estonia would interfere with the work of military radars. 

"The Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority also is of the opinion that construction activity by the developer is illegal because the developer of the Aidu wind farm has no valid construction permit. The party to which the order was issued is Eleon Green OU as the holder of the building rights for the Aidu wind farm," spokespeople for the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority have said.

The Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority also issued a warning to impose a penalty of up to 64,000 euros if the order is not fulfilled.

Oleg Sonajalg, board member of Eleon AS, has described the demand of the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority to immediately stop the development as an unprecedented and brutal move, since the company, according to repeated assertions of the municipality, "possesses all the permits and all the rights for putting up its wind turbines."