Source ADIT:
Voir le projet de l'éolienne de La Rochelle (2MW): en
français
En anglais: A model wind turbine
A giant wind turbine will be brought into service
to the north of La Rochelle at the beginning of 2004, thanks to an original
financing model. All that is needed now is the authorisation to build the
turbine, expected in September, plus a few months of construction work,
and La Rochelle’s 80-metre turbine will begin to turn.
With an output of 2 MW, and planted in the water
60 metres offshore, the plant will benefit from the consistency, regularity,
and power of the coastal winds of Poitou-Charentes, to produce about 4,000
MWh per year.
“The equivalent of the electricity usage of 2,000
households,” says Christian Bouly, the instigator of the project and president
of the company L’Eolienne, created in July 2002 to manage the project.
This simplified limited company (SAS) is the successor
of the non-profit association Crea 2000, set up by the University of La
Rochelle, which had been in charge of the project since 1996.
In order to raise some of the capital needed for
the construction of the turbine, which will cost 3 million euros, L’Eolienne
put out a call for shareholders. 89 shareholders, both institutions and
individuals who were interested in the project, raised the initial capital
of the company from 43,000 to 253,000 €.
The SAS now consists of six groups of shareholders
– the project managers, suppliers of turbine parts, local authorities,
research organisations, and individual and companies from 31 French départements.
This unusual financial structure means this wind
turbine project is the first participatory project of its type in France.
“A very good idea which should be carried further,”
says Jean-Michel Germa, president of France Energie Eolienne. He would
like to see 2,000 MW being managed in this way by 2010. For Christian Bouly,
the primary purpose of inviting the local population to participate actively
in a wind farm project is to gain acceptance. “If I find a wind turbine
near my home, and learn that its some large, remote company which is profiting
from it, I won’t be happy.” |
In fact, 40% of the people involved in his project live
in Charente-Maritime. The other criterion for local acceptance of such
a project is a policy of open communication. “It’s a question of respecting
people. Wind turbines take over part of a common landscape, and if there
is no explanation or consultation concerning a wind farm project, there
is a high risk of its being rejected,” he comments.
The new wind turbine will be 800 metres from the
nearest homes, and has therefore been discussed at numerous meetings of
neighbourhood committees, local associations, and the La Rochelle metropolitan
area. Result: “Now, people are generally favourable,” says Jérôme
Faucillon, the project manager.
Contact: SAS L’Éolienne, +33 5 46 45 72 17
Source T-T:
90% des Français seraient favorables à l'éolien,
révèle une enquête de janvier 2003, réalisée
par l'institut Synovate. Pour 55% des interrogés, il s'agit d'une
énergie "propre" et 55% la disent "économique". Plus on est
proche des éoliennes, moins les inconvénients sont jugés
importants. Au niveau national, 28% parlent de gêne (sans préciser
laquelle) et 21% considèrent le bruit comme un handicap. Pour ces
deux derniers sondages, on peut se demander combien ont déjà
vu ou entendu une éolienne?
· L'énergie éolienne
européenne a atteint, en novembre 2002, 20.447 MW de puissance installée.
C'est 74% de l'énergie éolienne mondiale et un accroissement
de 40% en 12 mois. A noter que la France ne vient, quant à l'éolien,
qu'en dixième place et que 80% des éoliennes dans le monde
sont fabriquées par des firmes européennes. Si l'Allemagne
n'a que 4% de son électricité produite par le vent, c'est
18% au Danemark. "Bizarement", les moulins installés en bordure
de mers sont le facteur économique no1 pour ragriculture
et le tourisme.
· A noter aussi qu'en 2002, 525 MW
d'autorisations en éolien ont été accordés
en Grande -Bretagne, c'est autant que durant les 11 ans qui précédèrent
· Le plus grand parc éolien
hollandais s'est mis à tourner le 27 janvier dernier. C'est le fruit
de la collaboration de Nuon (une importante compagnie électrique)
et de 23 agriculteurs |
