| Summary: | This paper examines the planning process of one of Europe’s largest wind power plants in Markbygden, located on Sami land in the north of Sweden. The area is of national interest for both wind power establishments and the main industry of the Sami people, reindeer herding. The power plant poses a great difficulty to the reindeer industry in the area, something that threatens to eradicate the local Sami community. Despite protests from both the Sami parliament and from the local Sami communities the power plant was approved by the government in 2010, partly due to the view that increased renewable energy sources lies in the public interest. Focusing on the conflict between the public interest and particular interests, this paper examines how the two national interests are described in the planning process through a text analysis based upon theories of the public interest. The conclusions drawn from the study paints a picture of the wind power interest as vital to the public interest while the reindeer herders are portrayed as representing a particular interest even though both interests are officially considered to be national interests. This offers an alternative understanding of establishment of wind power plants on Sami land.
|
|---|