“This is a first step, but no results have been won,” Claude Madec-Cleï, mayor of Griselles (Loiret), warned after the publication on November 18 of a highly anticipated report on a giant wind turbine project in his municipal area. If the inquiry commission’s opinion is unfavorable, elected officials assured him, despite apparent complacency among many local residents, the game is far from over: the file must now follow its administrative path to the prefecture, where its decision will be handed over to the prefect of Loiret.
The mayor reminded that the unfavorable opinion of the investigating commissioner would not necessarily be followed by the State. “When the prefect has signed the decision, only then can we declare whether we have won,” he stressed, stressing that a possible rejection could lead to an appeal from the developer, “as often happens in wind power projects,” he explained.
This is a decisive step in a struggle that began in 2019, even before the arrival of the current mayor. Residents then mobilized against the project carried out by the CPENR and ABO Energy companies which planned to install three wind turbines measuring around 200 m. The chosen location, located between Griselles and Chevannes (Loiret), quickly aroused strong local opposition. Public meetings under pressure, the creation of defense associations, forums, petitions: the protests took root and did not wane over the years.
This mobilization increased in intensity when the public inquiry opened in the autumn of 2025, attracting hundreds of contributions, the vast majority of which were unsupportive. A mobilization that is prominent enough to be a determining element of the final analysis.
The Union opposed the project
The report published on November 18 detailed what led the commission to give a negative opinion. First we read one of the toughest points: the unanimity of the people consulted about the project, from neighboring towns to inter-municipalities, a rarity in this kind of investigation. Then came the impacts considered most sensitive, such as significant landscape changes, exacerbated by the unusual height of the wind turbines, but proximity to homes was also considered problematic, even if distances were respected. To the commission, the minimum distance of 500 m appeared insufficient given the configuration of the land and the concerns expressed by local residents.
The report also addresses the lack of transparency. The files are considered to comply with regulatory requirements, but certain documents are still missing, in particular opinions from organizations such as DRAC or the architects of the Bâtiments de France. Land tenure is considered poorly documented.
The Commission also noted the ongoing uncertainty regarding the geotechnical stability of the land, the potential for disturbances during the construction phase or even the project’s impact on tourism, questions regarding demolition… and, lastly, the value of real estate. His contribution to the recent legal case regarding the shrinkage of homes near wind turbines attracted his attention.
Potential danger to bats
Social acceptability is also another important point of this report. Massive opposition from the community, felt during the meeting as well as numerous online contributions, was considered a major obstacle to good integration of the project in the region. “ The requirements for constructive dialogue could not be met,” said the commission, noting that the consultation process undertaken by project leaders “lacked fruit.”
Regarding the environment, opinions were more mixed: if the impact on birds was deemed insignificant, the commission still expressed doubts regarding bats, despite the proposed measures. He believes that the risk of disruption to local colonies cannot be completely ruled out.
At the end of this assessment, the commission considered that the unfavorable elements far outweighed the detrimental elements, whether it was unanimous rejection from society, large landscape impacts, proximity to homes, almost no social acceptance, but also technical or environmental uncertainty. According to him, these conditions were not met to allow the project to continue as is.
It now remains to be seen what Sophie Brocas, the prefect of Loiret, will decide. A decision that all of Griselle is now waiting for.
