(I believe?)
Investigation. More wind turbines, not less CO2, Le Monde, 14/02/08. Herve Kempf
The mayor is happy: five wind turbines, 135 m high, stand above the plain. In early February, the town of Saint-Andre-Farivillers (Oise) saw the blades of its new wind farm, with a power of 11,5 megawatts (MW), begin to turn. As the operating company, Enertrag France, will pay the municipality a professional tax each year (around 700 euros per MW and per point of professional tax), Claude Le Couteulx expects almost 40 euros in additional revenue.
"We have two factories which pay in the order of 60 euros, he says. This new resource is welcome. I don't have a football field for young people. Signage costs the skin on the buttocks. : we are going to make a map at the entrance to the village. And then, we will continue to redo the stained glass windows of our 000th century church. Moreover, with the wind turbines, we had to widen the communal roads to four meters, and will have to maintain them. " The council also hopes to help the poorest of its 550 administrators to pay for the renovation of the individual sanitation of their house, which is compulsory.
The project, carried enthusiastically by the mayor, has attracted almost no criticism in the village. The director of Enertrag, Philippe Gouverneur, welcomes this welcome. His company expects from the park, which requires an investment of around 16 million euros, an average profitability exceeding 10% per year.
The development of wind power is unquestionably a good business for the communes as for the companies which are employed there. Although wind generated electricity is currently among the most expensive, its profitability is ensured by a tax levied on the invoices of all subscribers. The objective is precisely to encourage the growth of this renewable energy.
But what is good for municipalities and for companies is it good for the community? Are wind turbines an effective way to fight climate change? The answer obviously seemed yes. Until the publication of a study carried out by the Sustainable Environment Federation, bringing together associations opposed to wind turbines, which throws a pave in the pond (see http://environnementdurable.net).
The author of the study, Marc Lefranc, vice-president of the federation, compared the evolution of CO2 emissions (carbon dioxide), the main greenhouse gas, of the most developed countries in Europe. wind turbines. Logically, since wind turbines do not emit CO2, these countries should present a particularly favorable balance sheet.
But figures from the European statistical office Eurostat show that Germany, despite a wind farm of over 18 MW, has seen CO000 emissions per capita from the energy sector not decrease but increase by 2, 1,2%, between 2000 and 2005. Spain, with more than 10 MW, experienced an increase of 000% over the same period. Denmark, the world champion in wind turbines given its small population, has seen a drop of 10,4%. But, in fact, observes Mr. Lefranc, the doubling of electricity imports from Denmark largely explains this good result. In total, summarizes the document, the development of the wind presents a balance sheet "very disappointing from an economic and environmental point of view".
Certainly, you have to take the circumstances into account. Thus, Spain has experienced a very significant economic development, which has exploded the consumption of electricity. Germany has integrated its eastern part, whose electricity consumption has increased sharply to reach the level of the western part. And one wonders if, without wind turbines, their emissions would not have been even higher.
But the study poses a question surprisingly neglected by energy institutions: to what extent can wind power reduce CO2 emissions? The International Energy Agency is silent on the subject; the Energy Management Agency (Ademe) does not provide an answer. An analysis was conducted indirectly, in France, by Reseau de transport d'electricite (RTE), on the problem of the intermittent supply of electricity by wind turbines. This can force the use of thermal power stations when consumption peaks in winter are combined with a lack of wind. In fact, observes RTE in its 2007 forecast report, the "power excursions to be satisfied by the thermal equipment" are increased "more and more significantly when the wind farm grows".
Experts in favor of wind power find it difficult to answer the question posed by the study of the Sustainable Environment Federation. "If consumption increases when the population increases, this absorbs the small gain made possible by wind power", observes Pierre Radanne, an independent expert. "It is sure that, if we do not make an effort to save energy, wind power is useless," said Raphael Claustre, director of the Renewable Energies Liaison Center.
"Reduce consumption"
In fact, wind power only makes sense in the context of a global energy policy aimed at controlling electricity consumption: "The first thing to do is to reduce consumption, notes Jean-Louis Bal , charge of renewable energies to Ademe, but nobody does. "
The reasoning is confirmed by Jean-Marc Jancovici, engineer and member of the ecological watch committee of the Nicolas Hulot Foundation: "What we see in Germany and Spain is that more renewable energy does not necessarily mean less In fact, the promoters of wind power do like the promoters of nuclear power: they favor a supply policy, whereas it is a demand policy that is necessary. Better to encourage society to accept an increase in the price of electricity which will push it to reduce its consumption, than to develop wind power. "
While 7 MW of wind energy is forecast in France in 000, the number of gas-fired power plants should also increase by almost 2012 MW. An example of this paradox is found near Saint-Brieuc (Cotes-d'Armor), where Gaz de France projects a 10 MW gas power plant while Poweo is preparing an offshore wind farm of comparable power. An expertise carried out at the request of elected officials showed that there would suddenly be more energy than the department needed.
"Wind turbines remind me of first-generation agrofuels, explains Marc Lefranc. At the beginning, we thought it was good, and then when we took the environmental assessment, we realized that it was very questionable. in relation to climate change, the first thing to do is to put in place energy saving techniques. And then, to prioritize renewable energies in order to invest wisely. "
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