Citizen activists take on 'destructive' solar power plants in France's Provence region

France24 ^ | March 6, 2024 | Cyrielle Cabot

[ProtectOurFreedom]

SUMMARY: Citizen activists in southeastern France’s Alpes-de-Hautes-Provence region have been campaigning for two years against the growing number of solar power parks in a protected natural area around the Lure mountain. The local authorities, and the parks' investors, claim the plants are “essential” projects in the fight against climate change, and in line with the ambitions of the European Green Deal. But the activists claim these projects are “destructive” for biodiversity and the landscape.

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A few hundred metres above the commune of Cruis, in the Alpes-de-Hautes-Provence region, Sylvie Bitterlin, a 62-year-old actress, stands in front of the security fence of a brand-new solar farm. “Look, they've destroyed everything,” she says.

The 17-hectare site project site has been under construction for several months and is nearly finished. According to the operator, Boralex, a Canadian renewable energy company, the site will generate 14.9 megawatt-peak hours of electricity, enough to power a community of 12,000 residents.

Boralex’s managing director, Jean-Christophe Paupe, claims the park makes “an indispensable contribution ... at a time when France is lagging behind in the development of renewable energies”.

But as the project nears completion, Bitterlin makes no secret of her frustration and anger. Since 2019, she and about twenty other members of the local citizens group Elzéard, Lure en résistance have been fighting tooth and nail to prevent the plant from going ahead. They say the solar park, partly installed in an area classified as a “biosphere reserve” by UNESCO, will endanger several protected species and their habitat.

We're told that Provence has poor soil, that there's nothing in it. But this is totally false. We have medicinal plants, thyme, rosemary, orchids ... These are fantastic plants, home to protected species. It's all about life,” says Bitterlin, who has become the movement's spokeswoman.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

People all over the world HATE how destructive "green" energy is to the environment. And that's before they figure out how bad its capacity factor is, that there is no practical utility-scale energy storage at any price, that no power is generated at night and on cloudy days, and that "green" will send electricity prices up 5X or more.

Acres of forest have been cut down to install these solar plants. The forests were cut down without informing local people and giving them time to oppose it.

It's good to see how people around the world are pushing back against this insanity.

[Red Badger]

If they really, really wanted to stop Climate Change, they would plant trees and build nuclear power plants.

So that is not the reason for all this stupidity...............

[PGR88]

A family member had a house on Georgian Bay in Canada, a lovely remote wilderness, with small country towns. We went there often as kids.

Was there recently, and the natural beauty has been destroyed by literally hundreds of windmills - during they day its like being in a post-modern steel and fiberglass forest, and at night, all of their lights are blinking like satanic red eyes.

Meanwhile, completely out-of-sight and underground, the east-west TransCanada gas pipeline passes right through the area, bringing natural gas from Alberta that is far cheaper and more efficient energy than any “green” energy source possibly could provide

Sheer leftist stupidity.

[SpaceBar]

China!

[ProtectOurFreedom]

The irony! France has long been the world's biggest nuclear power producer reaching (I think) nearly 2/3 of their power generation. But they are old and need lots of maintenance (recently, half their nuclear power plants were out of service for maintenance). Instead of doing major life extension programs or building new nukes, they opted for the "green solution" which is a disaster.

Also from France24 two years ago:

How France’s prized nuclear sector stalled in Europe’s hour of need

France should be in a strong position as Europe reels from the energy crisis, drawing on the renowned nuclear industry that supplies the lion’s share of its power. But France’s nuclear sector has been going through a tricky time, as a significant proportion of its reactors have had to close for maintenance. Analysts blame a mixture of bad luck and the consequences of a political deal from a decade ago.

[John S Mosby]

Forests cut down for this??? Wonder if they’ve tried taking agricultural land of other products... listed on this site:

https://agronomag.com/famous-agricultural-areas-world-provence-france/

[ProtectOurFreedom]

“Was there recently, and the natural beauty has been destroyed by literally hundreds of windmills - during they day its like being in a post-modern steel and fiberglass forest, and at night, all of their lights are blinking like satanic red eyes.”

We drive through our western states a lot and see the same thing. Our once magnificent, majestic vistas are permanently ruined. It doesn’t take a genius to see what’s coming, either. These infernal windmills will reach the end of their lives in 20 to 30 years, the government subsidy tap will dry up, the companies that built and operated them will be bankrupt, and they will be rusting hulks for the next thousand years.

The irony is you cannot open an strip mine for any coal or mineral without posting a bond to reclaim the land when mining operations are completed in the future.

So the greeniacs, in their effort to make wind look cheap, artificially lower the price by not requiring a bond to reclaim the sites when they are worn out.

It is sheer, utter leftist insanity and for NO good reason.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

“Forests cut down for this?”

No kidding. All over the world, beautiful forests are being cut down and agricultural land taken out of production for solar.

That article you linked about lavender production in France is wonderful (thanks for posting that) I didn’t realize the Romans were first going to make Provence a wine production area but changed to lavender. And the greeniacs want to destroy all of that to worship Gaia.

My wife and I have toured lavender farms in Sequim, Washington and they are beautiful and incredibly fragrant. The microclimate there is perfect for lavender.

BTW, I saw and article a few weeks back (maybe on FR) that says solar cells are irreparably harming the SOIL beneath them — the builders put down inches of sand and the heat and shade is ruining the soil!