Norway's energy minister on Thursday apologised to Indigenous Sami groups for the construction of wind turbines on reindeer pastures, calling it a 'human rights violation'.
The court did not say what should happen next to the 151 turbines, which can power 100,000 Norwegian homes, or what should happen to the dozens of kilometres of roads built to facilitate the construction.
Sami protesters have blocked the entrance to the oil ministry and other government buildings in the Norwegian capital Oslo over the past week, demanding the removal of the turbines and arguing that a transition to green energy should not come at the expense of Indigenous rights.
"I've said my goal is to find solutions that enable the Fosen wind power and reindeer husbandry to coexist, and that's a task I still believe we can succeed with," he said. His statement followed a meeting with the president of Norway's consultative Sami parliament, Silje Karine Muotka, who had demanded an apology.
"My goal remains to bring to an end the human rights violation and for the damage to be repaired," Muotka told reporters.Owners of the Roan Vind and Fosen Vind farms, including Norwegian utilities Statkraft and TroenderEnergi, as well as Swiss firms Energy Infrastructure Partners and BKW, have said they hope a compromise could be found.
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