“Following the recent decision of the Council of State rejecting the summary appeal, the prefect decided, on January 6, 2022, to sign an order to remove the park (equivalent to dismantling)”, indicated the prefecture by email .
The Guern wind farm was put into service in 2008 by the company SNC Guern Wind Farm after a building permit issued in 2005. “Its location was contested from the outset by local residents because of its proximity to homes ( 380 and 450 meters) and its impact on the natural environment, ”their lawyer, Sébastien Collet, told AFP.
“It is a great satisfaction for residents to see that court decisions are finally respected,” he said. “As the duration of a wind farm is 15 to 20 years, the multiplication of procedures has made it possible to operate the park for ten years and to make a profit to the detriment of local residents,” he said, however. regretted.
“Risk of projecting two blades”
In 2009, residents had obtained in court the cancellation of the building permit, a decision confirmed in cassation in 2012 “for reasons of public security due to a risk of two blades being thrown on two houses”, specifies the prefecture.
In 2013, the prefect refused the operator’s request for regularization, the new rules for installing wind turbines imposing a minimum distance of 500 meters from homes.
“It was not until December 2019 (…) that the Council of State confirmed the illegality of the administrative situation of the Guern wind farm”, continues the prefecture.
1,000 euros per day late
In April 2020, the prefect then gave the operator formal notice to regularize his situation, which implied a cessation of activity or the purchase of houses located within the 500-meter perimeter. The operator, who contested the order and continued to operate, was fined 1,000 euros per day of delay in May 2021.
On December 30, 2021, the Council of State ultimately ruled inadmissible his summary appeal.
A decision on the merits concerning the challenge to the administrative sanctions is expected in 2022, but the prefecture considers that “the dispute concerning the operation of the park (…) has been exhausted since the end of 2019 and has concluded that it is irregular”.
Contacted by AFP, the company’s lawyer had not commented on this decision in the middle of the day.