Rapporten analyserar hur begreppet samhällsnytta hanteras i tillståndsprövningen av vindkraft. Lagstiftningen ger ett visst utrymme att beakta vindkraftens betydelse för den lokala/regionala ekonomin. Förutom att vindkraften påverkar samhällsekonomin genom att bidra till elproduktionen påverkar utbyggnaden även lokal eller regional ekonomi och sysselsättning samt andra näringar. Hur stora effekterna blir på sysselsättning och inkomster på lokal/regional nivå, beror bland annat på på det lokala utbudet av de tjänster och den kompetens som efterfrågas.

Såväl positiva som negativa externa effekter uppstår vid utbyggnad av vindkraft, men det finns ett tydligare utrymme i lagstiftningen att beakta vindkraftens negativa effekter, än att ta hänsyn till de positiva effekterna. För att säkerställa att även vindkraftens positiva miljöeffekter ges utrymme i lagstiftningen föreslår författarna att regelverket ändras, så att en bedömning av den miljömässiga nyttan av vindkraften - och andra liknande verksamheter – måste göras i prövningen av tillstånd. Detta skulle öka såväl transparensen och rättssäkerheten i besluten som den vägledande kapaciteten.

Swedish landowners Historically, Swedish landowners have been forced to accept that that their land is claimed for mining activities. This has been done on the basis of different laws and legal rules. The Minerals Act currently in force also entitles third parties to extract miner-als from other people's property. The question of who owns the mineral prior to extraction is however not answered by the Minerals Act or by any other statute. The ownership issue is, in addition to principally interesting, also of practical importance, for instance in relation to the right to exploit minerals covered by the Minerals Act for household use, or the right to exploit unregulated minerals, as well as for future discussion regarding mineral compensation. Besides the principal question of ownership, the Minerals Act gives rise to a number of other issues affecting the landowner's right in relation to the extraction of minerals on the property. The main purpose of the study in Part I is to identify who, if anyone, under Swedish law can be regarded as the principal owner of the components of earth that contain minerals. To this end, it has been necessary to define the concept of ownership in the property context. Access to minerals has been essential for the development of civilization and is still of crucial importance for the way we live our lives. While mineral extraction can be said to constitute a significant public interest, it is an activity that claims limited resources, competes with other land-use interests and causes significant environmental impacts. Even these interests have gradually begun to be considered public and essential, especially the interest of sustainable development. As a result of this, the legal framework governing the extraction of minerals has expanded substantially. This applies not least in relation to other interests, such as environ-mental protection and the rights of others, for example various types of user rights. The legal framework for mineral extraction is today a complex system consisting of several laws with wholly or partly different objectives. An important question is how well these overarching objectives can be ensured within the licensing process for mineral extraction and its associated parallel application of more or less independent laws. The main purpose of the study in Part II is to examine how the overarching objective of the Environmental Code is safeguarded in the licensing process for mineral extraction, and how the process should be designed in order for it to result in well-balanced solutions where all interests are given sufficient consideration. In addition to the analysis of the various legal issues and conflicts that may arise in connection with the exploration, exploitation and processing of minerals, the study also aims to investi-gate what should be regarded as applicable law in situations where clear rules are missing.

Since long, Swedish land owners has been forced to accept that their land is claimed for mining activities. The utilization has taken place in accordance with different laws and legal rules. Also the current Minerals Act expresses a right for third parties to assimilate minerals from other people's property. The question of who owns the mineral prior the utilization is however not answered by the Minerals Act or by any other statute. In addition to being principally interesting, the ownership issue is also of practical importance, for instance regarding the right to exploit minerals covered by the Minerals Act for household use, or the right to exploit unregulated mineral as well as in future assessments regarding e.g. mineral compensation. In addition to the principal question of ownership, the Minerals Act also gives rise to a number of other issues that affect the land owner's right in relation to the extraction of minerals on the property. The main purpose of this study has thus been to identify who, if any, can be regarded as the principal owner of the elements of earth that contains minerals under Swedish law. To do this it has been necessary to define the concept of ownership in the property context. Furthermore, the study also contains an investigation regarding whether the minerals in the earth is to be considered a part of the property, and if the property ownership entails a principal right (power) for the owner to utilize minerals that may exist underground. The right with which third parties can reside on private land and there perform the preliminary studies that may be required to obtain exploration permit is also examined, as well as the conditions for – and the powers that comes with – permit and concession in accordance with the Minerals Act. The results of the study confirm that the ownership of property in Sweden is negatively determined and that all powers relating to the property therefore is due to the owner, unless law, custom, tradition or other source of law states otherwise. The results of the study also indicate that the mineral in the ground are to be considered a part of the property; the landowner is therefore in principle its owner and the function of the Minerals Act is that of a legal constraint. It is also concluded that it is possible to perform a large part of the necessary preliminary investigations with support of the Right of Common (Swe: Allemansrätten).