It is only a small project to build 6 wind turbines in Eure, on the Vexin plateau, but it is agitating the highest authorities of the State. The Ministry of the Armed Forces has just vetoed the project less than two years from now. The cause: potential interference with the military radars of Base 105 in Évreux. Explanations.
Launched in 2020, this wind turbine construction project was to be commissioned in 2027, with the promise of a power of 36 megawatts.
The establishment was to take place in the department of Eure, on the Vexin plateau, in the territory of the communes of Mainneville and Sancourt, as shown in this map from the project leader SEPALE, delimiting the potential establishment area of the wind farm.
Two municipalities are located in the wind project implementation area: Mainneville and Sancourt.
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© SEPALE
During preliminary studies, the file sparked heated controversy in the region. Particularly among the residents of these two municipalities, who are reluctant to see the horizon of their countryside stopped by steel giants more than 180 meters high.
Two deputies even took up the cause of the residents at the time, as we told you in this report broadcast on June 1, 2022 on our channel.
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France 3 Normandy report on the wind project supposed to be installed near the towns of Mainneville and Sancourt, in Eure.
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©Stéphane Gérain, Eric Lombaert
The mayor of the town, initially opposed to the project, ended up giving her agreement. The construction of these wind turbines therefore seemed to be on track.
With the end of the public inquiry, the project leader only had to obtain the green light from the prefecture to launch the project, expected by mid-year 2024.
Yes, but there you go. On April 18, the Eure prefecture issued the following decree:
The request for environmental authorization concerning the project to install six wind turbines in the territory of the municipalities of MAINNEVILLE (27150) and SANCOURT (27150) is rejected.
But the prefecture will have been, in this specific case, only the messenger, since in this same decree, the State services explain this refusal by a veto placed in reality by the Ministry of the Armed Forces and in particular the Directorate of the aeronautical safety and the Military Air Traffic Directorate.
The reason ? The chosen location is 48 km from military base 105 in Évreux and, as detailed in the decree, “specialist analysis shows that the latter presents a proven nuisance for army radars, which is not acceptable as it stands“.
“We need to have radar coverage of around 70 km around a military basean Air Force officer (who must remain anonymous) explains to us by telephone. This is essential in terms of security. In a plane, if your instruments give you incorrect information, it can turn into a disaster scenario. And our instruments can be disoriented by wind turbines.”
Indeed, when rotating, wind turbine blades create electromagnetic disturbances. Anomalies which generate interference on radars, whether civil or military.
Wind turbines create electromagnetic disturbances which distort radar detection.
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© National Frequency Agency
So what solutions for the project leader after all these years of preliminary studies? “Depending on the diameter and height, wind turbines generate more or less interference. slips the officer.
Certain projects can therefore be modified, either by choosing another location or by reducing the height of the wind turbines, and thus generate little or no interference for military radars. In this case, the Ministry of the Armed Forces could this time validate the Vexin plateau wind project.
Another option for the operator: contest the prefecture’s decision with the administrative court of appeal. The company now has a little less than two months to launch this process. But it seems, in any case, unlikely that this jurisdiction will dismiss… the Ministry of the Armed Forces itself.
