Offshore wind power in the sea of Oleron or how to engage in a sterile confrontation under cover of a Public Debate organized on the basis of a vague project – It is necessary to review strategy and method.
It is not easy to escape the debate for or against nuclear power in France, in this presidential campaign at the beginning of 2022; one speaker after another poses the energy question as a survival issue, at a time when uncertainties weigh heavily. We are back to talking about the desired strategic autonomy, after having abandoned the game for twenty years and ratified the weakening of the nuclear industry.
This situation mechanically leads to a delirious pressure around the so-called offshore wind, in fact power plants installed at sea with the associated connections and devices, as if this solution became the “Holy Graal” while the model is absolutely not “proven”, whether technically, economically or environmentally.
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In the end, a feeling of “unpreparedness” and “deficit” emerges, with, on the one hand, this difficulty in organizing serious project approaches anchored in the challenges of today and tomorrow, capable of articulating programming and long-term vision. And on the other hand the cruel lack of reflection and tools on the invention of “a democratic planning adapted to our open societies”.
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Playing transitions by opposing energy and biodiversity is a short-term vision : technology versus life. Multiplying the points of friction is certainly not the right way to move forward. Similarly, the question of acceptability can no longer be considered as an accessory!