Estonian court overturns municipality's decision to halt wind farm planning

Tallinn Administrative Court has sided with developer Enery Estonia OÜ in its challenge against Kose Municipal Council's February 2025 decision to abandon special planning and a strategic environmental assessment for a proposed wind farm. The municipality had argued the project would significantly harm the local living environment.

The court found the council's decision was procedurally flawed: the developer received the draft decision and its justification only three days before the council meeting, and being allowed to present its plans at that meeting did not replace the right to submit substantive objections before the process was terminated.

Insufficient evidence

Judges concluded the municipality had leaned too heavily on a nationwide Environment Agency study mapping areas potentially suitable for wind development, even though that study itself stated further site-specific studies and impact assessments would be needed. At the time of the decision, the wind farm's location, scale, impacts and mitigation measures remained unknown — precisely the questions the planning and environmental assessment process was meant to answer.

The court also rejected the municipality's claims that the project would inevitably damage the local green network or conflict with its comprehensive plan, which does not ban wind farms. It further noted the municipality used inaccurate surface-area figures when evaluating the cumulative impact of the wind farm alongside the planned Ahisilla quarry, and had failed to properly weigh the project's potential benefits.

The court stressed that the precautionary principle cannot justify halting a planning process on assumptions alone; where information is lacking, the necessary studies must first be carried out. The ruling is not yet final and may be appealed to the Tallinn Circuit Court by October 26.