The municipality is mapping privately owned areas that could be proposed as areas for the rapid development of renewable energy
The Finnish Supervisory Agency (LVV) requests proposals from municipalities for the designation of rapid development areas for renewable energy. The first designation round concerns solar power production and any associated on-site energy storage. The objective is to streamline permit procedures and to promote renewable energy production in Finland and the EU.
The municipality asks landowners to submit any proposals for areas no later than 15.3.2026 to the municipal register office: kirjaamo@janakkala.fi. For more information, contact urban planner Sonja Tanner, sonja.tanner@janakkala.fi.
Criteria for proposed areas:
- Areas must be altered as a result of human activity, including, for example, built surfaces suitable for solar energy production or areas that have been or are being taken out of other use and are suitable for solar power production.
- Areas should not be located to a significant extent on forest land or agricultural fields used for food production.
- The suitability of the areas for solar power production and any on-site energy storage must have been investigated.
- Proposed areas must be contiguous and larger than 50 hectares in area.
- Connection of the areas to the electricity grid must have been preliminarily investigated, for example using Fingrid’s Verkkokiikari map view.
- There must be land-use prerequisites for solar power production and any co-located energy storage. However, existing plans do not need to directly enable them.
- If a rapid development area is proposed near a Natura site, the proposal must include a detailed assessment demonstrating that the project or plan, alone or in combination with other projects and plans, is unlikely to significantly deteriorate the natural values for which the site is protected.
- For areas located near landscape and cultural environment value areas and archaeological sites, impacts must be assessed.
- The areas must not include locations listed in section 14 a of the Act on permit procedures for renewable energy production facilities and certain other administrative procedures as excluded from rapid development areas. According to that provision, the following areas cannot be designated as rapid development areas:
- areas that consist to a significant extent of productive forest land or fields used for food production;
- undrained natural peatland areas;
- areas belonging to the European Union’s Natura 2000 network;
- areas included in nature reserves referred to in section 43 of the Nature Conservation Act or in conservation programs referred to in sections 15 or 144 of the Nature Conservation Act;
- areas to which sections 64, 65, 73, 77–79 or 81 of the Nature Conservation Act apply;
- the most important migration routes for birds and marine mammals; or
- areas other than those referred to in points 1–6 above that have been identified in sensitivity mappings of wild fauna and flora or similar scientific studies as being susceptible to significant environmental impacts.