Saint-Pierre-sur-Dropt: An agrivoltaic project divides local residents

Despite adjustments, solar panel installation project raises concerns about impact on landscape and property values

The law of March 10, 2023 requires municipalities to plan, in consultation with the public, acceleration zones favorable to the installation of renewable energies. To this end, the municipality of Saint-Pierre-du-Dropt had favorably deliberated on April 7, 2023 on a 42-hectare area allowing the installation of an agrivoltaic project.

The SCEA des Graves (Michel Prima and his son Alexandre), at Conroc (D 211), no longer wishing to work this land, contacted the company Mana Énergies in 2022. On July 23, the mayor organized a meeting to present this revised project to local residents, down to 23.50 ha. Following this meeting, and taking into account the complaints of local residents, the project was reduced to 16.30 ha.

Despite this meeting, local residents are not giving up and are concerned about the impact of the project on their homes located along the Dropt road, including André and Laurent Bariteaud. They have contacted the ADN (Active Expense Nostra) association, which advocates for biodiversity and the preservation of traditional agricultural land use.

Laurent Bariteaud has just alerted residents with a leaflet placed in their mailboxes about the nuisances of this project: homes between 60 and 100 meters from the property line of the project: what about hedges; what about multi-story homes that will have a view of the photovoltaic panels; what about the resale price of houses located on the edge of the agrivoltaic project, and where the electricity produced will be stored, the source station of La Sauvetat being saturated. And then Laurent Bariteaud rants: "I aspire to a life made of landscape and not scrap metal in front of my house."

Contacted, Michel Prima of SCEA des Graves emphasized that "all the regulations in force were respected by Mana Energies, which believes that there would be no noise pollution and that the site would be protected by hedges. Is it out of jealousy that the Bariteaud family, who have just launched a petition against this project and with whom I had good neighborly relations, no longer have me in their hearts," Michel Prima rages.

Mayor Denis Maurin is keen to point out that the City Council will give its opinion when Mana Energies proposes a project that includes a connection to a substation or battery storage. But ultimately, Denis Maurin points out, it is the prefect who will have the final say.

As a reminder, the mayor organized a public meeting on June 6, 2023, during which Mana Énergies presented a 42-hectare project, a project that was revised downwards to 35 hectares on May 12, 2023. This second project was reduced to 23.50 hectares, including a setback for traffic lanes and residents' gardens. "Very few participants expressed any comments on this project," the mayor emphasized.