This is a unique event in the Loiret, and relatively rare on the national territory, in which the inhabitants of Varennes-Changy will be invited to participate. On Sunday January 26, 2025, in the Escale room, between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., they will have to answer yes or no to this question: “Do you authorize the mayor to sign before a notary the authentic deed of the long lease with the company RWE for the installation of a wind turbine on a municipal plot for a period of 41 years?”
In project, three wind turbines with a height of 180 meters
This local referendum, because it is indeed one, is the umpteenth episode of a soap opera with twists and turns which began in 2017 in this Gâtinais village of 1,500 souls. In the project, three wind turbines 180 meters high (there were initially five), one of which would be erected on municipal agricultural land if the project was completed.
Initially supported by the mayor, Évelyne Couteau, and part of her council, the construction of the three machines was then rejected by the municipal council in March 2022, then received an unfavorable opinion from the investigating commissioners at the end of the public inquiry carried out in 2023.
The prefectural ruling contested by Les Vents rageurs du Gâtinais
In November of the same year, to the amazement of opponents of the project, the prefecture had nevertheless validated and authorized the company RWE to build and operate three wind turbines in Varennes-Changy. The response did not take long to arrive, the order being challenged in court by the association Les Vents rageurs du Gâtinais, while the municipal council voted on a motion against the prefectural decision.
