Epilogue of a three-year legal series, the dismantling of a park of seven wind turbines in Hérault was ordered by the Nîmes Court of Appeal, as well as the restoration of the site, within a period of 15 months. Built in 2016 in the Hérault hinterland by Énergies Renouvelables du Languedoc (ERL), these seven wind turbines were still in operation, despite the cancellation of their building permit twice (in 2006 then 2017) and after several complaints filed for attacks on poultry by three environmental protection associations.
This ruling from the Nîmes Court of Appeal on Thursday, consulted by AFP on Friday, confirmed a ruling from the Court of Cassation taken in January. “With more than 1,099 birds found dead in 2019 alone, it is a real cemetery at the foot of the wind turbines,” explained to AFP the lawyer for environmental defense associations, Me Nicolas Gallon. In its judgment, the Nîmes Court of Appeal indicates that “the issuance of the building permit was made under conditions of insufficient information which led to the wind turbines operating in an insufficiently regulated framework, at the origin of ‘a harm particularly for the protection of birds’.
On January 16, the corpse of a golden eagle, a protected species, was found under the wind turbines. It had been shown that its trajectory had led it to hit one of the blades. The dismantling of the seven wind turbines and the restoration of the Bernagues site, in the town of Lunas, must be effective within 15 months, with a penalty of 3,000 euros per day of delay to be paid to the associations (1,000 each), for 180 days. After this date, the court would reconvene to rule. ERL had requested that in the event of compulsory demolition a period of 26 months be granted and that this daily penalty not exceed 500 euros.
“The ecological damage has been admitted and recognized,” said Marjolaine Villey-Migraine, spokesperson for the collective of associations. But our fight is not quite over, since they have 15 months to dismantle the wind turbines, during which time they wish to continue their operation. But wind turbines have already caused a lot of damage.” As it stands, ERL can still appeal to the Court of Cassation, “but the chances of success of this appeal are low”, according to Me Nicolas Gallon, “since the Court of Cassation had already issued a judgment previously”.
