Le Figaro Bordeaux
Solar energy is on the rise in New Aquitaine.
In 2022, the region will produce the most photovoltaic electricity in France.
The most powerful solar power plant in the country is located in Cestas, in Gironde, and the largest urban solar power plant in Europe is in Bordeaux, on the site of a former landfill.
For several years, the giant Horizeo solar park project, in Saucats (Gironde), has suffered setbacks because of the hundreds of hectares of forest threatened by the construction site, but an important step has just been taken with the deposit a building permit.
This decisive phase, revealed by
Les Échos
, also means that Horizeo could be the last solar park of such a large scale to see the light of day.
The 2023 law for the acceleration of the production of renewable energies in fact prohibits photovoltaic installations requiring clearing of more than 25 hectares.
An amendment specifies, however, that projects already studied, like this one, can be brought to fruition.
Estimated at 600 million euros, Horizeo plans to raze around 700 hectares of forest - compared to 1,000 in the first version of the project - in order to meet the electricity consumption of around 500,000 inhabitants.
Read alsoSolar power plant on the Bordeaux ring road: the prefect in favor of an experiment on a boulevard
“A bad solution to a real problem”
To reduce its footprint on the forest, this project, carried out by the companies Engie and Neonen - which already operates the 260 hectare Cestas park - has therefore reduced its size in order to protect certain wetlands, the protection of which is a vital issue for the climate.
The developers also gave up on a green hydrogen production unit and electricity storage batteries on the site.
After the building permit has been submitted, a public inquiry will take place and the work, planned for a period of two years, could be completed as early as 2027. Environmental protection associations nevertheless intend to make their voices heard throughout this process. process.
“We are not opposed to renewable energy. We are aware of the energy challenges of tomorrow, but we strongly oppose the gigantism and gluttony of the Horizeo project
,” explains the Horizon Forest association, which recommends installing solar panels as a priority on already artificialized surfaces.
SEPANSO, a regional organization bringing together several local environmental protection associations, will also continue to fight against this
“mega project”
deemed
“disproportionate”
, which according to it consists of providing
“a bad solution to a real problem, because it denies the essential functions of the forest, in terms of carbon sink, regulation of the water cycle or reservoir of biodiversity
.