thousands of people are calling for the project to be postponed while it examines its effects on the environment

It’s no. Many participants in the public debate on the installation of floating wind turbines in the Mediterranean have asked for the postponement of this project in order to better study its effects on the environment, according to a report published on Friday, December 31 by the organizers of the debate, concluded end of October.

The government plans to award the first two floating wind farms in the Mediterranean from 2022. But some defenders of the environment, fishermen, scientists, local elected officials and boaters prefer before that to be able to take advantage of the experience feedback from three pilot wind farms expected in 2022-2023 off Gruissan and Leucate (Aude) and Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône (Bouches-du-Rhône). “It was urged to return to the timetable initially planned by the State, namely to build pilot farms first and to carry out scientific research programs” in order to “make the best decision at the end of this work”, according to the report of the public debate.

Only the State, the RTE electricity network manager, the regions and a large part of the industrial sector have defended the timetable desired by the government. Lhe Minister for the Ecological Transition, Barbara Pompili, pleaded for the government calendar in Marseille during one of the public meetings. “Renewable energies create jobs and sectors in France. Falling behind on this will simply mean that we will end up having to buy components abroad”, she argued.

More generally, this debate has led to the emergence of a “request” of a “clear and funded action plan to encourage energy sobriety”, specifies the Special Commission for Public Debate (CPDP). “Make renewable energies, yes, but on condition that we drastically reduce the most energy-intensive consumption (transport, heating / air conditioning, food, etc.)“, summarizes the chairman of this commission, Etienne Ballan.