Residents of Sainte-Croix (VD) have been living a few hundred meters from a wind turbine for a year. While some people are okay with it, for others, cohabitation is more complicated.
For twelve months, six wind turbines have been reshaping the landscape of the Vaudois Jura. In the peaceful hamlet of Gittaz, on the heights of Sainte-Croix, around twenty residents live a few hundred meters from the first mast.
>> See the subject on the inauguration of the park a year ago: The first wind farm in Vaud was inaugurated in Sainte-Croix
Alexandre Gutleben is an opponent from the start. He fought tirelessly to prevent the installation of wind turbines. At the microphone of RTS, he recounts his dismay: “I cried, and more than once. If we love nature, we cannot love wind turbines, especially in the middle of the forests. And I don’t I can’t afford to go elsewhere. […] It’s not that easy.”
A quarter of a century of procedures
Wind power is a divisive subject in French-speaking Switzerland. In Sainte-Croix, it took a quarter of a century to see the first Vaudois propellers emerge from the ground.
For a long time, Camille Joseph, another resident of Gittaz, did not have a clear opinion on the question. However, it has since had to undergo two years of enormous work, including an entire year spent at the foot of the wind turbines.
“It bothers me more than I would have imagined. It makes loud fan noises. If we have a window open and the wind turbines are turned in our direction, we hear them,” she tells RTS .
“Rather well integrated”
Conversely, some residents have become accustomed to their presence, like David Wyssbrod, who lives opposite Camille’s house. “We cannot speak of extraordinary nuisances.” The Sainte-Crix adds: “mixing technology and nature is something quite interesting. I don’t find it ugly, I find it rather well integrated”.
Acoustic analyzes are planned for next year. If the standards are exceeded, measures will be considered, as explained by Michaël Berset, manager of the Sainte-Croix site for Romande Energie.
“We can, for example, slightly reduce the power of the machine, for given periods, to reduce its acoustic curve. It can also be sound insulation. What it cannot be, a priori, is the dismantling of a machine.”
Another question also remains unanswered: that of the productivity of the park. Romande Energie will communicate an initial assessment on this subject next March.
Sujet TV: Yoan Rithner
Adaptation web: Julien Furrer
