Engie and Neoen announced Tuesday in Bordeaux the submission of authorization requests to build in Gironde, in reduced dimensions, one of the largest photovoltaic parks in Europe.
Called Horizeo, this project costing 600 million euros provides, in its final version, the construction of a photovoltaic park with a power of 800 megawatts (MW) on 680 hectares of forest in Saucats, 20 kilometers south of Bordeaux, in the heart of the Landes de Gascogne massif.
Olivier Rémy, director of Horizeo, confirmed the submission of applications for building permits and environmental authorization, a few days before the implementation of a law limiting the surface area of similar projects in the future.
In front of the press, he defended an
“ambitious, pragmatic, energy transition accelerator”
project , based on a
“subsidy-free”
model of over-the-counter contracts intended for companies, which
“has evolved greatly”
to respond
“to the challenges of territory"
.
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Contested compensation mechanisms
Of the 2,000 hectares of forest at their disposal, the two project leaders wanted to show their credentials by announcing their desire to
“maintain”
500 hectares for
“biodiversity management”
and 800 others for silviculture, but to raze approximately 700. They also provide large strips of cleared land to protect against the risk of fires.
The operators have also committed to
“reforesting mainly in Gironde”
, particularly on abandoned vineyard plots, double the forest area which will be cleared for the project.
These reforestation projects are part of carbon offsetting mechanisms, a contested process, sometimes compared to
“greenwashing”
.
Read alsoTake care of forests to better store CO2
Fire and flood risks
The project presented on Tuesday, however, is much less monumental than what was initially planned.
In its first version, Horizeo planned a billion euros of investment, 1000 hectares of solar panel park and several additional units - production of green hydrogen, storage batteries and data center - which have since been abandoned.
Locally, the project comes up against many opponents - forestry and agricultural unions, hunters and environmental associations - who fear an increase in the risk of fires and floods, in a department already affected by these phenomena, as well as a monopolization of land. the forest.
The
“acceleration of renewable energies”
law , passed last year, will prohibit from March 10 new projects for the construction of photovoltaic parks larger than 25 hectares in forest areas.