Placed on steep island cliffs about 250m above sea level, in demanding mountainous terrain with little vegetation, Havøygavlen wind farm is under constant battering from adverse and rapidly changing weather conditions. The wind farm truly epitomizes the saying, “that which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”. The internal roads are only accessible by snowmobiles during the winter season, and the nearest community is that of Havøysund, a small village of around 1000 inhabitants, primarily focused on the fishing sector. Here in the Arctic Circle, the midnight sun illuminates the island during the summer months, while the darkness is all-consuming during the winter period, only brightened by the spectacular aurora borealis. Being set in one of the world`s most vulnerable areas to the effects of climate change, Havøygavlen presents an option for supplying clean, renewable, and perpetual energy, necessary for all development in the region, and therefore a responsible choice.
The world’s northernmost wind park proved to be a valuable testing ground for arctic sites and now demonstrates high economic efficiency. The extreme environment has been an overall educative effort for both the developers and the turbine makers, who recently chose to upgrade the wind farm after almost 20 years of successful operation.