Wind turbines in Campbon, in western France, January 17, 2023 (AFP/LOIC VENANCE)
What is the impact of onshore wind farms or photovoltaic panels on flora, fauna and landscapes? A national observatory is created to see things more clearly, via a decree published Sunday in the Official Journal.
The creation of this “observatory of renewable energies and biodiversity” was provided for by the law aimed at accelerating the production of renewable energies, promulgated on March 10, 2023.
This was in particular a request from the France Nature Environment (FNE) association, which considers it essential to take into account the impacts on ecosystems “to achieve a truly virtuous ecological and energy transition”.
The French Biodiversity Office (OFB) and the Ecological Transition Agency (Ademe) are now responsible for “summarizing the knowledge available through existing studies and data on the impacts of terrestrial renewable energies on biodiversity, soils and landscapes.
They must also gauge “the effectiveness of avoidance, reduction or compensation measures accompanying the development of renewable energies”.
According to the text of the decree, the observatory will be able to “carry out or request the carrying out, in an ad hoc and targeted manner, of specific studies and expertise on subjects of interest, linked to its missions”.
The government had also indicated to AFP that the decree governing the cohabitation between food production and solar energy on agricultural land would be published during the weekend in the Official Journal. It was not the case. This text has been awaited for a long time by energy companies and the agricultural world.
© 2024 AFP
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