France’s new government outlined its energy policy, which warms up most of the old projects left over from the last government – including a promise for many more wind turbines in the countryside.
The measures are likely to provoke huge opposition in rural areas, but the new junior minister in charge of energy, Olga Givernet, said during an interview with Les Echos newspaper she did not see this as a problem.
“There is a place for land wind turbines,” she said.
“Local initiatives have been successful when they have involved residents.”
She did not say where the successful local initiatives were.
The measures are included in a consultation document, setting out the government’s energy plans till 2035.
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Replacing old models
Most of recent land-based wind turbine activity has seen plans to replace existing wind turbines, most of which were installed 20 years ago and produce 1MW of electricity when working, with taller more modern turbines which produce 2.5 MW of electricity on the same sites.
Old models typically have masts 80 metres high, and 40 metre long blades – newer ones approved for land sites in France have masts 120 metres high and blades 80 metres long, for a total height of 200 metres.
Each of the new turbines is rumoured to cost around €2 million, compared to €1 million for the older smaller models, but exact prices are never clear.
The government announced in November 2023 a list of 58 new projects it had approved electricity prices for, but no map of where these 58 projects are, nor updates on when they expect to start putting up turbines, has been issued.
Read more: What are the rules for domestic wind turbine installation in France?
Plans for 58 new wind farms
Ms Givernet said the plans for off shore wind farms will continue.
France Renouvelables, the trade body for renewable energy, said it did not have a map available showing where the 58 new land wind farms will be.
In its 2024 annual review of the sector it showed that there are many departments, especially in the south-west, where there are no wind turbines at all.
In Nouvelle Aquitaine, Dordogne, Gironde, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne and Pyrénées-Atlantiques have no wind energy production.
Similarly in the mountainous east there are no wind turbines in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Hautes Alpes, or Alpes-Maritimes.
The issue is highly sensitive; the French energy agency ADME published research in 2022, which showed that houses within five kilometres of wind turbines lost 5% of their value.
In theory, the mairies of the communes where the wind turbines are due to be built should be told, but this does not always happen.
And many communes cover areas smaller than 5 km2 and if the turbines are on the border, the bordering commune will not necessarily be told.
Similarly the environment minister publishes incomprehensible lists of projects, including the latest 58, commune by commune, from private firms which have won contracts to supply wind energy – but some of these projects fall by the wayside without anyone knowing anything about them.
Read more: MAP: Offshore sites identified for new wind farms in France
Court ruling on turbines
Courts have ruled too that if a house owner knows of a project to install wind turbines nearby, they must tell potential buyers before they sign.
For courts the guiding principle is if the turbines will affect the property buyers must be told, so the ADME research is likely to be used most times.
Opponents of land based wind turbines said the study was skewed because it did not take into account the fall in value of houses within 2 km of wind turbines, which they said was much higher – anecdotal evidence from some estate agents said such houses were “unsellable.”
Windfarm opponents including the Fédération Environnement Durable, pointed to a seeming contradiction between Ms Givernet’s support for countryside wind farms and the prime minister Michel Barnier, who has said he wants the impact of wind farms to be “measured better,” suggesting a slowing down of the policy.
Ms Givernet also repeated the commitments made by the last government towards nuclear power with plans for three new large reactors at the existing nuclear power sites of Gravelines (near Calais), Penly (near Dieppe) and Bugey (near Saint Vilbus in the Ain department).
Another sensitive subject inherited from the old government, the plan to ban the renting out of homes which have the lowest Diagnostic de performance énérgetique certificates, from January 2025 will remain in place Ms Givernet said.
There has been dismay in some quarters as the deadline approaches as it become obvious that numerous blocks of flats fall in the G category.
“We must also take particular account of the situation of co-propriétés, and make sure that people operating in good faith are not penalised,” Ms Givernet said, hinting that the law will not be strictly enforced.
“It is also important to better target our grants, like MaPrimeRénov' on the worst performing buildings, by actively accompanying people.”
Read more: Old energy efficiency ratings for French properties invalid from 2025
