Thomas Nilsen

New pulp plant in northern Finland will be fossil fuel free

The new pulp plant in Kemi will produce more electricity than it consumes and no fossil fuel will be used.
December 13, 2021

F-35 selected as Finland’s next fighter jets

The Government in Helsinki on Friday announced it has chosen the American Lockheed Martin Corp. F-35 fighter jets to replace the current fleet of F/A-18 Hornets.
December 10, 2021

VW invests in north Swedish wind farm

A step on the path for Volkswagen to decarbonise the company and its products with intention to be net carbon neutral.
December 10, 2021

A peninsula on an island Nansen named for his wife and daughter has melted away

Employees of the Russian Arctic National Park discovered that the peninsula on the northern edge of Eva-Liv island at Franz Josef Land wasn’t a peninsula at all, but a glacier stretching into the sea that now has melted.
December 09, 2021

Arkhangelsk should be renamed Putingrad, says former mayor

“Nobody’s going to screw up a town with that name,” argues Aleksandr Donskoi, who served as mayor of Arkhangelsk from 2005 until 2008.
December 09, 2021

Moscow aims to enhance presence in Svalbard as part of hybrid-strategy, expert warns

"​A hybrid-strategy is underway in which Russia bolsters its legitimate presence in Svalbard on one hand while raising tensions in the maritime space on the other hand," says polar geopolitics expert Elizabeth Buchanan.
December 07, 2021

Norway deploys radiation drones along its coast amidst nuclear emergency concerns

Five Coast Guard ships are soon to carry drones with sensors capable of detecting radioactivity in case of a maritime accident involving a potential release from a reactor-powered civilian or military vessel.
December 03, 2021

Putin praises China and paves way for stronger Arctic energy deal

Russia expects Chinese banks soon to sign financing agreements for Novatek’s Arctic LNG 2 project.
November 29, 2021

Deep freeze in Arctic Europe sends power prices soaring

Exceptional cold is affecting northern Scandinavia and Russia’s Kola Peninsula with temperatures below -30°C.
November 28, 2021

Full speed ahead for Russia’s new fleet of giant icebreakers

Both the "Arktika" and "Sibir" have been on sea trials in the Gulf of Finland this week, while construction work on the "Ural", "Yakutia" and "Chukotka" continue according to schedule.
November 26, 2021

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Thomas Nilsen is editor of the Independent Barents Observer with its news desk located in Kirkenes, northern Norway. He has a long experience in media cooperation across the borders in the high north of Europe, both as radio- and newspaper reporter all the way back to the days before the breakup of the Soviet Union. 

Nilsen has been editor of Barents Observer since 2009.

He was Deputy Head of the Norwegian Barents Secretariat from 2004-2009. Until 2003, he worked 12 years for the Bellona Foundation’s Russian study group, focusing on nuclear safety issues and general environmental challenges in northern areas and the Arctic. 

Thomas has been traveling extensively across northern Scandinavia and Arctic Russia since the late 80’s working for different media and organizations. He is also a guide at sea and in remote locations in the Russian north for various groups and regularly lectures on security issues, environmental and socio-economic development.

Thomas Nilsen studied at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

Mobile: +47-90573143

thomas@thebarentsobserver.com
@nilsen.thomas