French Guiana: the construction permit for a thermal power plant validated on appeal
The administrative court of appeal of Bordeaux has overturned the decision of the administrative court of Guyana which had cancelled the building permit for a thermal power plant near Cayenne. This decision puts an end to an arm wrestling match between environmentalists and EDF, who were contesting the project.
| Sectors | Biomass Energy, Alternative Fuels |
|---|---|
| Themes | Project Development, Permits & Authorizations |
| Companies | EDF |
| Countries | France |
The administrative court of appeal of Bordeaux validated on Tuesday the building permit issued by the State for the construction of a thermal power plant in Larivot, near Cayenne, the object of an intense battle between environmentalists and EDF.
This permit was cancelled in July by the administrative court of French Guiana on the grounds of a risk of flooding for the installation and an attack on an area classified as a remarkable coastal space. But the Bordeaux court in turn overturned this ruling, validating as in February the analysis of the prefecture of French Guiana, according to which there is no “satisfactory solution other than the one chosen for the implementation of the new thermal power plant”. The administrative court of appeal of Bordeaux had also confirmed, in February, the environmental authorization of the plan.
The Larivot power plant, in the commune of Matoury, is to replace the aging oil-fired plant in Degrad-des-Cannes and run on liquid biofuels, which would require the construction of a 14-kilometer pipeline to transport them. The local prefect had granted a building permit for a large seaside power plant in October 2020, as Guyana’s electricity supply is fragile.
The project “does not take advantage of the resources of Guyana but imports fuels that pollute,” denounced to AFP Garance Lecocq, coordinator of Guyane nature environment, an association plaintiff in the case.
In a statement on Tuesday, the EDF subsidiary in charge of the project, EDF-PEI, said that construction of the plant would resume “as soon as the rainy season ends”.
On the side of the opponents, an “appeal to the Council of State will be discussed in the coming days”, explained Ms. Lecocq, both on the environmental authorization and the building permit.
