A Wind Farm, An Expedition, and the Arctic Hectare

On 28 June, President Putin signed into law the bill on the so-called Arctic Hectare program recently adopted by the Russian parliament. As part of the program, thousands of land plots across the Russian Arctic will be distributed by regional authorities to those willing to use such plots for making business or building a house. The idea behind the program is to attract more people to the High North to reverse the aging and outward migration trend. The allocation of land plots is to kick off this 1 August.

A new wind farm is likely to be built in Sabetta, an Arctic port in Yamal, Russia.  The onshore farm with an output of some 200 MW is to replace the existing thermal power station running on gas. Experts say an implementing partner for this project will be selected by late 2021 or early 2022.

An international science team comprising Russian, Swedish and Finnish researchers will embark on an expedition to the Russian Arctic region of Murmansk to learn more about the sources of pollution affecting local rivers. The team will focus on both mercury pollution and organic contaminants. The expedition will be organized as part of an international project implemented under the auspices of the Arctic Council.