Local officials form wind lobby

Frustrated by the sluggish pace of wind development in Norway, a score of local authorities up and down the country's notoriously breezy coastline have formed a little pressure group with a grandiose name: Landsammenslutningen av Vindkraftkommuner (LVK), the national union of Norwegian wind power municipalities. According to LVK's Iver Nordseth, the group will lobby for legislation favouring wind power while serving as a professional body and recruitment agency for the industry. Membership fees for each local authority are based on population, at NOK 0.5 per head. According to Nordseth, who is the enterprising mayor of Smøla-a mini-archipelago with a population of 3000-wind power projects at various stages of discussion and/or planning on Smøla alone represent potential production of 1000 TWh year.