• With nearly 9,000 masts installed for 17.6 GW of installed power, wind energy provided 7.9% of French electricity production at the end of 2020.

  • A ratio that should increase: Barbara Pompili repeated on Tuesday the need to develop renewable energies in the future in an expected context of growth in demand for electricity.

  • The Minister for the Ecological Transition says, however, that she does not ignore the protests against the deployment of wind power in France "when they are legitimate".

    Ten measures were presented in an attempt to smooth out potential conflicts.

“The development of renewable energies is an essential issue for France and Europe in the years to come.

It is not ideological, it is factual.

"Before detailing the ten measures that the State is instituting for" a controlled and responsible development of wind power ", Barbara Pompili began by recalling what she said to be" obvious ".

“Two-thirds of our final energy consumption in France is still based on oil and gas,” continues the Minister for Ecological Transition.

The only way to achieve our climate objectives, beyond our efforts to control energy demand, is to replace these fossil energy sources with carbon-free sources.

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Don't turn your back on wind power

From this perspective, renewables are presented as support energies for nuclear power, “to be developed massively from today”, insists the minister. Among them, the wind sector is doing well. With a fleet of 17.6 GW of installed power in 2020, it provided 7.9% of French electricity production (against 6.3 in 2019), against 2.3 % for solar. "Over the past five years, wind power costs have fallen by 25% and stand at around 60 euros per megawatt / hour, which makes it a competitive energy source", underlines Barbara Pompili.

We have understood that the government does not intend to turn its back on wind power, whether on land or at sea, despite the disputes that these parks can generate.

In particular in areas where its development has been massive in recent years (Hauts-de-France, Grand Est, etc.).

Barbara Pompili says she hears these protests “when they are legitimate”.

"Ignoring them and going for it headlong would lead us to blockage, and therefore to the inability to meet our objectives," she said.

This is the whole issue of the ten measures presented on Tuesday, prepared in consultation with representatives of the sector such as France Energie Eolienne (FEE) and the Syndicate of Renewable Energies (SER).

Map areas still conducive to the development of wind power

A first part of the measures reflects the concern to instruct wind turbine projects with a higher level of requirement. This is in particular the instruction given to the prefects, while ensuring the compatibility of these projects with local environmental issues. Since 2020, a third of the authorization request files have been refused by the prefects, or 67 refusals out of 206. Some because of their impact on the landscapes, others for biodiversity issues, still others because of their impact on the landscape. saturation of wind farms in the sector *. In March 2020, the prefects had also received the instruction to map the areas that remain conducive to the development of wind power, those for which it is necessary to look at it on a case-by-case basis, and those where new parks are no longer desirable.“The first maps are being finalized in Brittany, in Hauts-de-France, the Grand Est or Occitanie, details Barbara Pompili. The others will follow in the coming weeks. "

These maps will aim to facilitate upstream consultation, by directing project leaders from the outset to “green” areas, favorable to the development of wind power.

This will not prevent all litigation, anticipates the minister.

Hence this other measure: create a team of “wind energy mediators”.

These four or five general inspectors, reporting to the ministry, could be contacted by the prefects on potentially problematic projects.

Improvements expected on noise and light pollution

Another set of measures concerns the existing impacts of wind farms on local residents. "The first complaint heard is that of their end-of-life imprints, in particular their concrete foundations which remain in the ground, or structures buried after their dismantling," says Barbara Pompili. The Minister assures to have taken the necessary measures "to make compulsory the complete excavation of the foundations and the recycling of almost all the elements that make up a wind turbine". “90% of existing wind turbines must now be recycled, in particular to make new materials for the construction industry,” she explains. This rate will rise to 95% for wind turbines installed from 2024. "

The issue of noise pollution is also taken into account.

From January, noise control will be systematic for all new parks, announces the Minister.

If the thresholds are exceeded, the Prefect may reduce the speed of rotation of the blades or even demand that the installation be shut down.

Experiments will finally be launched to reduce the light impact of wind turbines.

In particular in Chauché (in Vendée), where the signals are oriented towards the sky, or even in Saint-Cirgues-en-Montagne (Ardèche), where they are only lit when an aircraft passes.

Devices that could be quickly generalized.

Mandatory consultation of mayors

Finally, the third package of measures aims to improve consultation with local populations. Clearly, "that the establishment of a park is no longer suffered but wanted", launches Barbara Pompili. With this in mind, the promoters of a project must necessarily consult the mayor of the municipality concerned before launching it, a measure of the Climate and Resilience law which will be applied from 2022. Regional energy committees will also be set up. , co-chaired by the State and the region. They “will have to define renewable energy development objectives for each region in line with our national objectives,” explains the Minister. Each region will thus be able to be a force of proposal on the composition of its renewable mix, by privileging one or another energy according to its strengths and constraints ”.A decree expected in early 2022 will precisely define these committees.

The government also intends to promote the emergence of energy production projects directly supported by residents.

“A roadmap will be unveiled during the Citizen Energy Assizes in early November,” says Barbara Pompili.

The objective will be to facilitate the procedures to promote these citizen involvement, an important factor in making the projects more consensual.

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5,500 more wind turbines in 2028?

If these ten measures may entail a slight additional cost on wind projects, professional organizations in the sector say they accept it.

"It will be compensated by the fact that we can, with these measures, continue to deploy wind power on French territory," said Nicolas Wolff, president of FEE.

The multiannual energy program (PPE) sets the sector the objective of reaching 33.2 GW of installed power by 2028. To achieve this, the French wind farm will have to be increased to around 9,000 masts today. hui at 14,500 on this date, estimates FEE, while specifying that the improvement of the production capacity by wind turbine should make it possible to lower this figure.

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