The operator filed a permit application and public investigations are underway until July 8 in several neighboring municipalities (Fleurus, Charleroi, Pont-à-Celles, Genappe, Court-Saint-Etienne, Chastre, Sambreville, Darkffe and Jemeppe-sur-Sambre). The project proposed by Eneco plans to replace the 11 current wind turbines with 9 new generation turbines. These new installations will be much higher, as explained by Edouard Le Hardy, project manager: “One of the wind turbines will be 200 meters high and all the others will go between 230 and 250 meters.” This represents a height twice as that of current wind turbines.
This increase in size is explained by the technological advances of the last two decades. New wind turbines could produce up to 20,000 megawatts/hour per year, compared to 5,000 to 6,000 megawatts/hour for current 2 megawatts wind turbines. The calculation is quickly done in terms of production: 2 to 3 times more energy produced for the same ground surface. The objective is to maximize energy production on the same ground surface, in response to the ambitions of regional policy: “The Walloon objectives are still quite gigantic, especially in wind. And therefore, when we file a permit request, we are required to optimize as much as possible. We do not want to be answered that our project is not beautiful enough.” Nothing will prevent the ambitions downwards later, but this decision will belong to the Walloon administration.
