Canadian energy company Boralex has been given the go-ahead by the French authorities to complete the over 71MW Moulins du Lohan wind farm in France.
Boralex said that the Conseil d’Etat issued a judgement on 15 April to validate all the necessary authorisations for the project, located in the Lanouee forest.
The company said it will now focus on the completion of this project, which came to a halt in 2017.
The project will feature 17 4.2MW turbines, and, according to the preliminary schedule, commissioning is expected in 2024, it said.
The Conseil d’Etat is a governmental body that acts both as legal adviser of the executive branch and as the supreme court for administrative justice.
Boralex Europe general manager Nicolas Wolff said: “This is an important decision that will bring to fruition a truly exemplary project for the territory because of the environmental, energy and social benefits.”
Boralex said the project’s impact study includes the reforestation of an area of 12.25 hectares to compensate for the clearing of the 11.4 hectares needed to build and operate the wind farm.
“These reforestations – in addition to preventing a loss of forest surface areas – will be of higher biological importance compared to cleared areas within softwood plots due to the implementation of specific measures to maintain ecological features, such as creating suitable sites for amphibian reproduction,” it said.
Boralex has also planned measures in the construction phase with adapted operations to protect natural habitats and animal species, such as adaptive forest management promoting habitats and the reproduction of notable species, a measure to protect chiroptera, the company added.
“Like all projects led by Boralex, Moulins du Lohan has been the subject of rigorous and detailed studies on integration into the environmental context of the Lanouée forest. It was designed with the primary concern of preserving the forest’s distinct identity and uses,” said Wolff.