The Industrial Affairs Committee, a standing committee of the Icelandic parliament, has announced plans to make chances to the Icelandic Master Plan and allow construction of eight new dams. The proposition, however, was not on the committees agenda, was not booked and stakeholders were only given a week to comment on it which has infuriated members of the opposition.
The Icelandic Master Plan for conservation of nature and utilization of energy is a tool to reconcile the often competing interests of nature conservation and energy utilization on a national scale and at the earliest planning stages.
However, the previous government, which was made up of the Social Democratic Alliance and Green-Left Movement, had halted the very same dam projects due to the government’s environmental policy, which was to focus more on ingenuity and less on industry.
A plan that the committee presented in March, suggests that Hvammsvirkjun power plant be utilized. The new document lists seven more power plants including projects in Urriðafoss and Holtavirkjun (both located in Þjórsá river, South Iceland), Hagavatn and Hólmsá as well as Skrokkalda and Hágöng, located in the central highlands.
Jón Gunnarsson, head of the committee and MP representing the Independence Party, claims the plan will be revised after an environmental impact assessment has been done. “This is merely a proposal, not a final decision,” he said in an interview with Vísir.is.
The Industrial Affairs Committee deals with subjects regarding energy, technological development and agriculture, to name a few.
The Industrial Affairs Committee, a standing committee of the Icelandic parliament, has announced plans to make chances to the Icelandic Master Plan and allow construction of eight new dams. The proposition, however, was not on the committees agenda, was not booked and stakeholders were only given a week to comment on it which has infuriated members of the opposition.
The Icelandic Master Plan for conservation of nature and utilization of energy is a tool to reconcile the often competing interests of nature conservation and energy utilization on a national scale and at the earliest planning stages.
However, the previous government, which was made up of the Social Democratic Alliance and Green-Left Movement, had halted the very same dam projects due to the government’s environmental policy, which was to focus more on ingenuity and less on industry.
A plan that the committee presented in March, suggests that Hvammsvirkjun power plant be utilized. The new document lists seven more power plants including projects in Urriðafoss and Holtavirkjun (both located in Þjórsá river, South Iceland), Hagavatn and Hólmsá as well as Skrokkalda and Hágöng, located in the central highlands.
Jón Gunnarsson, head of the committee and MP representing the Independence Party, claims the plan will be revised after an environmental impact assessment has been done. “This is merely a proposal, not a final decision,” he said in an interview with Vísir.is.
The Industrial Affairs Committee deals with subjects regarding energy, technological development and agriculture, to name a few.
