More of 238 meters, is the size of the three giant wind turbines that could be installed in Boussais, a town of 500 inhabitants, near Airvault in northern Deux-Sèvres. It would be the highest in the department and even in France. The project obtained mid-December the green light from the prefect despite theunfavorable opinion of the investigating commissioner during the public inquiry and of the municipality, supported by the majority of the inhabitants.
Local residents are ignored.
Among the concerns: distance from local residents while the law provides for a minimum distance of 500 meters between a wind tower and the first dwelling. “There are homes that are 530-540 meters away so that’s just the limit. We haven’t changed the rules regarding the height of the wind turbines. It’s 500 meters even if they are 50 meters higher than those that existdeplores Gérard Giret, first deputy mayor of Boussais who asks about the potential nuisances.
elected officials who also regret not being listened to. “We do not take into account the local inhabitants”, believes Gérard Giret. Added to this is saturation effect. “I am in a village in the commune, there are about ten houses. We are on a hill but I see more than 70. I am not against renewable energies, on the contrary, but at some point we are at saturation Why do we always do them in the same place?he asks.
A monitoring committee
“In 2021 I made 7 decisions, four negative relating to 18 masts, three positive relating to 14 masts. Each time it was the very concrete considerations of the project that were in the fore.”, justifies the prefect of Deux-Sèvres Emmanuel Aubry questioned on the subject at the Department of Deux-Sèvres this Monday, February 7. On Boussais, the prefect specifies that “the elected officials, the local authorities who have been called upon to explain themselves have been in their diversity of opinions sometimes heterogeneous. The municipality of establishment was against but other municipalities were for. Five municipalities had a favorable opinion, seven an unfavorable opinion”.
The prefect also states that the project has been revised downwards: three wind turbines against four initially. “I wanted a monitoring committee to be created to prevent local residents from enduring nuisances that they should not be enduring. Residents will be associated with this monitoring committee”he adds. “This committee should have been done before”reacts the deputy mayor of Boussais Gérard Giret.
Emmanuel Aubry also defends the size of “these wind turbines which are actually higher than those usually installed. You should know that if we want to progress in the production of renewable energies while limiting the installation of wind turbines, these wind turbines must be more powerful. This is the meaning of the project carried out in Boussais”.
The municipality of Boussais plans to seize administrative justice.