Wind Power News: France
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Couple in France awarded ‘turbine syndrome’ damages from nearby wind farm
In what may be the first decision of its kind, a court has ruled that a Belgian couple living in France is entitled to some $127,000 in damages for health problems they say were caused by a nearby energy-producing wind farm. The couple said they had experienced a range of complaints from the six wind turbines located less than a half-mile from their home in the Tarn region in southern France. The symptoms, according to a report by the French . . . Complete story »
Couple suffering from ‘wind farm syndrome’ win £100,000 in damages
A French couple have been awarded more than £100,000 in damages after a court ruled that six wind turbines placed close to their home had caused them physical and mental suffering. Their lawyers said the ruling was “unprecedented in France”. After a six-year legal battle, an appeals court in Toulouse ruled that the wind farms had caused “abnormal neighbourly disturbances” to Christel and Luc Fockaerts. The couple had complained that the six turbines – some placed less than a mile . . . Complete story »
With eye on far right, French conservatives take aim at wind power
Two front-runners in the race for the centre-right ticket in France’s 2022 presidential vote took aim at wind farms on Monday, as the conservatives seek to win back the support of rural voters drawn towards the far-right. Xavier Bertrand, a one-time insurance salesman from the provinces, said profit-hungry wind farm developers were destroying the French countryside and that France’s energy security lay with nuclear power. Michel Barnier, the European Union’s former chief Brexit negotiator, said local backing would be needed . . . Complete story »
French couple who said windfarm affected health win legal fight
A French court has recognised “turbine syndrome” after a couple complained their health was damaged by living near a windfarm. In what is believed to be the first judgment of its kind in France, Belgians Christel and Luc Fockaert were awarded more than €100,000 in compensation by the judge in Toulouse. The couple claimed they experienced a range of health problems including headaches, insomnia, heart irregularities, depression, dizziness, tinnitus and nausea for more than two years, insisting these were caused . . . Complete story »
Eoliennes. La cour d’appel de Toulouse reconnaît les nuisances et l’impact sur la santé
[Toulouse appeals court recognizes wind turbine noise and flashing and their impact on health, orders companies to pay couple 110,000 euros.] En condamnant deux sociétés gestionnaires d’un parc éolien, la cour d’appel de Toulouse reconnaît l’existence de nuisances anormales pour le voisinage et leur impact sur la santé. La décision est inédite. Le 8 juillet dernier, la cour d’appel de Toulouse cassait un jugement du tribunal judiciaire de Castres et condamnait deux sociétés gestionnaires d’un parc éolien a indemniser un . . . Complete story »
Storm breaks Enercon and Nordex wind turbine blades in Germany and France
Rotor blades at Enercon E-138 EP3 turbines in Germany and France broke during a heavy autumn storm that hit Europe on Thursday and also damaged a third machine from Nordex. A blade on an Enercon E-138 EP3 at a wind farm in southern German was severely damaged during ‘storm Ignatz’, but no one was injured in the incident. All nine 4.2MW wind turbines of the same type have been halted as a precaution at the Nattheim wind farm near the . . . Complete story »
Iberdrola faces French probe over Saint Brieuc wind farm project
Spain’s Iberdrola SA is facing a probe in France over its offshore wind farm project in Brittany, Agence France-Presse reported on Saturday, citing a person it didn’t identify. France’s Parquet National Financier has opened a preliminary probe over the conditions in which Ailes Marines, a subsidiary of the Bilbao-based energy company, won a tender in 2012 to construct the project off the Saint Brieuc coast, according to the report. The probe follows a complaint by a local fishing lobbying group, . . . Complete story »
French fishermen erupt at Macron over hated Normandy project
Fishermen have taken aim at Emmanuel Macron over proposals for wind projects. Protestors had gathered on Friday in an attempt to voice their concerns against the plans for the wind projects. The protests took place in Le Havre and Cherbourg, with the protestors being made up of predominantly fishermen. The protestors believe that the plans for these wind projects are an ecological disaster, having an impact on both marine biodiversity and their economic activity. Speaking to Europe 1, a protestor . . . Complete story »
France is up in arms over a proposed wind farm near a WWI memorial
France is up in arms over a proposed wind farm near a WWI memorial. Opponents of a wind farm proposed near a battlefield in France where hundreds of Australian soldiers died during World War I are pressing the government to scrap the project, calling it an insult to the dead’s memory. Politicians and activists have spent years fighting plans for wind turbines near World War I killing fields in northern France, where tens of thousands of Australians were killed or . . . Complete story »
France faces anger over planned wind farm next to WWI memorial
Opponents of a wind farm planned next to a battlefield in France where hundreds of Australian soldiers died during World War I are urging the government to cancel the plan, calling it an affront to the memory of the dead. Politicians and campaigners have spent years trying to overturn plans for turbines next to World War I killing fields in northern France, where around 10,000 Australians were among hundreds of thousands killed and wounded. In 2017, Australian officials expressed relief . . . Complete story »
