Toward a holistic understanding of cumulative impact governance of renewable energy development in Finland

The rapid expansion of utility‑scale wind and solar energy in Finland has intensified concerns regarding their cumulative impacts (CIs) on nature and human habitats. Existing research and policy discussions increasingly emphasize the need to address CIs through upper level governance approaches that extend beyond project-level environmental impact assessment. However, limited conceptual clarity exists regarding how different modes of governance jointly shape the capacity to anticipate, coordinate, and manage CIs at a strategic level beyond individual instruments and strategic impact assessments. This paper addresses this gap and develops a holistic analytical framework for examining CI governance, integrating three governance modes: (1) regulation and national policy steering, (2) spatial and procedural instruments, and (3) collaborative practices. The framework is applied to Finland through an analysis of 24 semi-structured interviews with land‑use professionals representing national and regional governance levels. The results show that, despite advanced regional land‑use planning frameworks in Finland, significant governance gaps remain. Effective and consistent CI governance requires stronger national-level policy stewardship and responsibility, and a shared vision for renewable energy-related land-use trade-offs. This study contributes to CI governance literature by developing a holistic conceptualization of governance, enabling the identification of systemic gaps, inconsistencies, and misalignments.