Norwegian billionaire and founder of salmon producer SalMar, Gustav Witzøe, is financing legal costs of protests against a 60MW wind project led by Stadtwerke München (SWM) on the Norwegian island of Frøya, the Munich utility and Norwegian newspapers said.
The billionaire’s main motivation is that the planned wind farm could be seen from Witzøe’s house on the island – and not nature conservation aspects – sources close to the situation told IntraFish sister publication Recharge News.
The case resembles that of Donald Trump (unsuccessfully) trying for years to block the 93MW Aberdeen Bay offshore wind farm in Scotland, which the US President said spoils the view from a golf course owned by him on the coast facing the array.
Gustav Witzøe founded SalMar in 1991, and still is the executive vice president of the salmon farmer. He has passed on much of his wealth in the form of company shares to his son Gustav Magnar Witzøe, a model and socialite, who according to Forbes currently is one of the world’s youngest billionaires with a fortune of some €2.5 billion ($2.8 billion).
In addition to SalMar, Witzøe holds a suite of other seafood companies via the group Insula, which focuses on branded seafood companies and whitefish production in Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
