Renewable energies: sometimes electric debate, but favorable wind for the bill
Since Monday, December 5, the bill aimed at accelerating the production of renewable energies has been the subject of intense debate, particularly on wind turbines. The Republicans and the National Rally are at odds. A contrary wind appears within the Naked. But, although teased, the government and the majority have so far made no significant setback.
The word “wind” does not appear in the title of the bill, but it has been everywhere in the debates, since Monday, in the National Assembly. Wind energy, particularly land-based, largely monopolized MEPs’ speaking time in the first three days of the text’s consideration.
The acceptability of wind turbines is disputed
Among the main concerns: thevisual saturation“views and the distance between wind turbines and homes. As it stands, there is a minimum distance of 500 meters that must separate wind turbines from homes. DMany MEPs, from different sides, argued for technical developments that increase the size of wind turbines and their power, and underlined the growing resentment at the local level, to plead in favor in moving wind turbines further away from homes. Republicans dramatically increased the number of amendments, posing as defenders of the countryside and its inhabitants. In response, the Minister for Energy Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, asked the Republican representatives, as well as the members of the National Rally, which is very offensive on this topic, to assume their “refusal” to generate renewable energies.
If the executive’s relative majority could be jeopardized by the various amendments, it has so far suffered no delay in the bill. At this stage of the textual analysis, all articles reviewed were adopted in accordance with the wishes of the government, only one was retained against its opinion.
The first days of the project analysis made it possible to see the different sensitivities that may exist within each political family. So, some representatives of the majority, Xavier Batut (Renaissance), Thierry Benoist and Loïc Kervran (Horizons and related), filed amendments aimed at defending the “rural dwellers” facing the proximity and nuisance of wind turbines. Within Nupes, the communist Sébastien Jumel (Democratic and Republican Left) has, for his part, been critical of the Socialist groups and La France insoumise who he thinks are too complacent about this text.
A situation that the government and the rapporteurs sometimes take advantage of to pretend to be mediators of debates, sometimes distributing good and bad points. Pierre Cazeneuve (Renaissance) used irony, stressing that some amendments from the Republicans aimed to remove provisions from their colleagues in the Senate.
Planning, main point of the text
Considered important, article 3 – related to the definition of local authorities of “acceleration zones for the development of renewable energies” – was called as a priority and its review began on Wednesday night.
This article, which aims to implement territorial planning in terms of renewable energy, raises questions about the reality of the role and power of mayors in this area and the need to ensure that they are not challenged, or duplicated, by other authorities. , especially intermunicipalities. “Obviously the territories are at the heart of the system“, reaffirmed the rapporteur, Henri Alfandari (Renaissance), which evokes planning as a way, for municipalities in particular, of no longer “undergo“RE projects, but many”Choose“.”We really leave the keys to the truck up to local elected officials“, added the chairman of the Economic Affairs Committee, Guillaume Kasbarian (Renaissance).
An amendment by Sébastien Jumel (GDR), intended so that the acceleration zones are concerned only with EnR said land, and that EnR said at sea is the subject of a specific planning document, was adopted with the support of the rapporteur.
