The conflicts and potential trade-offs between renewable energy development and nature protection are evident in policies aimed at promoting windpower, particularly in nature areas under high pressure from human activities. However, surprisingly little is known about the influence of political steering on windpower licensing practices. This article examines how political steering has affected the weight accorded to environmental considerations in the licensing practices of the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE). We find that the NVE enjoys significant discretion in interpreting and implementing political decisions, and that the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy (OED) has not provided clear steering signals regarding nature protection. Political pressures for expanded renewable energy production are reflected in the significant attention paid to economic and technical considerations in the licensing process. We conclude that ministerial steering signals and the NVE’s technocratic culture have pushed in the same direction: greater development of windpower, at the expense of transparent and predictable consideration for nature concerns.

可再生能源发展与自然保护之间的冲突和潜在的权衡在旨在促进风力发电的政策中尤为明显，特别是在人类活动带来巨大压力的自然地区。但是，令人惊讶的是，对于政治指导对风电许可实践的影响知之甚少。本文研究了挪威水资源和能源局（NVE）的许可实践中，政治指导如何影响环境因素的权重。我们发现，NVE在解释和执行政治决定方面享有很大的自由裁量权，而石油和能源部（OED）并未提供有关自然保护的明确指导信号。扩大可再生能源生产的政治压力反映在许可过程中对经济和技术因素的高度重视。我们得出的结论是，部长级的领导信号和NVE的技术官僚文化朝着相同的方向发展：更大程度地发展风能，但要以透明和可预测的方式考虑自然问题。