A white pole planted in the middle of a field, so high that it pierces the cloudy ceiling. THE “records” announced by the Andilly-les-Marais wind farm (2,300 inhabitants), a town located north of La Rochelle, not far from the Marais Poitevin, are not a show off. The “tallest crane in Europe” (nearly 140 meters) has just finished climbing the three “largest wind turbines in France” (200 meters at the blade tip) of the latest generation, manufactured in Denmark by the world leader Vestas. With a total power of 18 megawatts, they will produce the equivalent of the electricity needs of 10,600 homes. The squalls of February did not hamper this extraordinary project, which required optimal weather conditions and strict adherence to the schedule so as not to disrupt bird nesting.
However, the true originality of this park lies less in its spectacular dimensions than in its “citizen model”, unprecedented in a territory hostile to wind turbines. In 2019, Dominique Bussereau (ex-Les Républicains), then president of the departmental council of Charente-Maritime, had asked the prefect to suspend any new installation of wind turbines and had a two-year moratorium voted on the issue. The previous year, the former minister had created a departmental wind power observatory, to counter projects deemed “unacceptable” accused of “disfigure” the landscape of Aunis and Saintonge. That is to say, almost all projects.
Since then, Sylvie Marcilly (various right), who succeeded him as president of the department in 2021, has led the same crusade, although appeals against prefectural authorization orders are regularly rejected by the Council of State. In Charente-Maritime, at the end of 2022, there were 24 parks in operation (141 wind turbines), 15 authorized (76 wind turbines), 5 under review (27 wind turbines).
Work on project acceptance
The Andilly wind project is the exception that proves the rule. Completed in just six years (compared to ten years of education on average), it has received favorable opinions, including those of the departmental council and the Marais Poitevin regional natural park, which is part of the monitoring committee. He has not been the subject of any legal action. Neither the Nature environment 17 association nor the Bird Protection League, whose national headquarters is in La Rochelle, have found fault with it.
“The angles of attack are not legion”, smiles Bertrand Cardinal, president of the Citizen Energy Production Cooperative (Coopec) in Aunis Atlantique, which holds the keys to the governance of the park. This was, from the start, the will of Andilles elected officials, while the promoters of wind projects were knocking on the door of the town hall. “We were in great demand during the previous mandate, testifies the mayor without label Sylvain Fagot, but it was not a priority for us. Then we quickly realized that developers were signing lease promises with landowners. We feared losing control and having a project imposed on us that we didn’t want. »
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