The project committee was held on October 17, 2024 at the Montazeau Town Hall. Although the project was the subject of regular consultation with local elected officials, the objective was to meet the new regulatory conditions requiring the organization of a project committee before filing the building permit application for renewable energy projects located outside the acceleration zones. In the absence of a validated departmental document at this stage, Law No. 2023-175 of March 10, 2023 on the acceleration of renewable energy production requires the holding of a project committee for the Montazeau project,
This progress report provides an opportunity to take stock of the project’s developments and specify its implementation conditions.
Project presentation:
Aedes Énergies presents the agrivoltaic park project located on permanent grasslands.
The fenced area of the project is 8.6 ha for an estimated power of 6.81 MWc.
The Montazeau agrivoltaic project is a sheep production in association with the production of solar energy. The operator plans a gradual increase: 80 sheep to start with up to 150 animals in the long term. The objectives of this project are to develop the sheep workshop to improve the operator’s income and allow her to have on the farm, the herd allowing her to maintain the plum orchards that she also operates (her main source of income). The operator currently uses an external herd of 3000 sheep and faces certain health problems.
The shade provided by the photovoltaic panels would improve animal welfare by giving them access to shaded areas and would allow grazing periods to be extended while allowing better grass growth in summer.
Regarding the connection of the site, the chosen source station would be in Saint-Géraud-de-Corps at a distance of 13km from the site.
The ecological issues were the subject of inventories over 4 seasons. Most of the areas at stake were avoided, in particular all wooded and shrubby areas sheltering a rich biodiversity. The residual impacts will however have to be the subject of ecological compensation (avifauna of open environments).
The landscape issues were also analyzed by a landscaper. The project does not have co-visibility with inhabited areas with the exception of the owners’ farm, but the pedestrian route crossing the project area needs to be diverted. Discussions with the Municipality made it possible to establish the principle of repositioning the route, the final route of which will have to be redefined in consultation with all parties.
Discussion and opinion:
The municipality of Montazeau confirms that it supports the project for which it has deliberated favorably. She notes that the relocation of the hiking route and the communal path that supports it will be necessary to maintain access to the wooded plots located to the east of the project.
The Mayor of St Méard de Gurçon, whose municipality is located to the east of the project area, knows the chosen sector, as a farmer and having land nearby. He considers the choice of the site relevant because of the low agronomic value of the crops concerned and therefore supports the initiative of an agrivoltaic project on this site. He points out that this type of project should, in his opinion, be encouraged on non-arable land, because it does not compete with food resources unlike projects for methane digesters and plots intended for the production of biofuels, particularly in an agricultural world that is currently facing a major crisis of resources.
Follow-up:
Organization of a meeting between the town hall and the owners to discuss the subject of the rural path and the hiking route.
Documents: