Open evening about solar power in the neighborhood.

Open evening about solar power

Geisli Energi, a subsidiary jointly owned in equal shares by Allstad and Hydro Rein, plans to build a solar power plant on Allstad's property adjacent to the vicarage at Solum in Skien. The area is currently a Christmas tree plantation, but its discontinuation has already been approved. Solar power now appears to be the best use of the land, which lies along county road 353 near Geiteryggen Airport.

Power development generates a great deal of engagement and, in many cases, entrenched divisions between those who want to preserve local cultural and natural values and those who want greater production of renewable energy in order to save nature from a global perspective. Confrontational public meetings can in many cases increase the distance between the parties and reduce the willingness to find solutions. So when Geisli Energi invited people to an open evening at Solum vicarage one Tuesday in early December, the aim was to facilitate constructive conversations. Everyone who wished to do so was given the opportunity to ask questions and express their views—not by taking the floor in an assembly, but by speaking directly with those responsible. In this way, confrontations became constructive input and the beginning of an open dialogue that is valuable to the project.

The living rooms of the venerable vicarage were filled with information posters explaining the most important details of Geisli Energi's plans. Letters to the neighbors and an advertisement in the local newspaper invited people to an open evening between 4 and 8 p.m. This spread the visitors out over the course of the evening, giving everyone the opportunity to speak directly with several representatives of Geisli Energi. Some obtained most of their information from the posters, while others were able to voice their concerns and have their questions answered—all over a cup of coffee and a pastry, as is only proper. We felt that neighbors, conservationists, and representatives of the local administration were reassured and more positive toward the project when they left the vicarage that evening.

The next step is submitting the license application. During the process, there will be several more opportunities to express one's views. If you would like to follow the development of the power plant near Geiteryggen Airport, you can do so at geisli.no.