FINLAND Trends and Developments Contributed by: Kari Marttinen, Laura Leino, Outi Iso-Markku and Tuuli Pohjonen, Erottaja Attorneys Ltd
tion, particularly for large-scale industrial and energy projects. Prioritising green transition projects in permitting In conjunction with the administrative reform, the pri- ority legislation regarding permitting procedures of green transition projects has been extended to be applicable until the end of 2030. Projects that align with the green transition should be processed within 12 months from the publication of the permit applica- tion notice. In case of an appeal against a prioritised permit application, such an application shall be pro- cessed as urgent in the administrative and supreme administrative court until the end of 2032. Projects eligible to obtain priority status are deter- mined by law. The exhaustive list includes the follow- ing: • energy production establishments that use renew- able energy to produce energy, as well as offshore wind farms and the related water resources man- agement projects; • industrial projects based on renewable energy or electrification that replace the use of fossil fuels or raw materials; • manufacture and utilisation of hydrogen, except for manufacture of hydrogen from fossil fuels; • capture, utilisation and storage of carbon dioxide; • battery factory and manufacture, recovery and reuse of battery materials; and • data centres, where most of the waste heat gener- ated is utilised. The operator applying for priority status must make a separate request for access to the priority system and provide a report of compliance with the “do no significant harm” principle. Reforming land use and building legislation Finland’s land use planning framework is undergo- ing a major overhaul. The reform, initiated in 2018, is executed in two phases. In the first phase, the Land Use and Building Act was partially revised through the adoption of the new Building Act (751/2023), which entered into force on 1 January 2025. As part of this update, construction-related provisions were trans- ferred from the Land Use and Building Act to the new
Building Act, and the remaining legislative act was renamed the Land Use Act. In the currently ongoing second phase, the Finnish government issued a draft proposal for the new Land Use Act in May 2025, further advancing the reform of land use legislation. According to the draft legisla- tive proposal, the main features of the land use plan- ning system would remain unaltered. Municipalities would continue to play a key role in land use plan- ning, while the regional planning system would still comprise national land use objectives, regional plans, master plans, and local detailed plans. However, the new Land Use Act would introduce adjustments to the regulation of regional land use plans, as well as sig- nificant changes concerning projects related to wind and solar power as described in more detail below. These proposed amendments are currently subject to political debate, and the final outcome of the legisla- tive process remains uncertain. Limiting the legal effects of regional plans The proposed changes to provisions concerning regional plans would implement the government pro- gramme’s objective to reduce the level of detail and legal effects of regional planning. The role of a regional plan would be limited to addressing land use issues that are of regional significance. Decisions that do not meet the threshold of regional significance would be made through municipalities’ master and local detailed planning. The proposed legislation would allow master plans to be approved even if they devi- ate from the regional land use plan, provided there is a justified reason – a flexibility that is currently not permitted under existing regulations. The proposed limitation of the scope and legal effect of regional land use plans is expected to help stream- line the planning process to some extent, as issues that previously required inclusion in a regional plan could instead be addressed at the municipal level. New regulations for wind and solar power It is also proposed that a new provision is added to the regulations concerning wind power master plans, setting a minimum distance between wind turbines and residential areas: if the wind power master plan is not located within an area designated for wind
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