Overview
- The civil action targets Puyrolland and about 50 landowners as the company seeks court-ordered passage to install turbines or damages it values at roughly €6.5 million per year.
- The case stems from the Parc des Chênaies Hautes, a seven‑turbine project approved by prefectoral order in 2019 across three communes near La Rochelle.
- WindStrom says the municipality refused the road permits needed to haul seven 180‑meter‑tip turbines to the sites, blocking construction.
- The Tribunal de Saintes held a procedural hearing with the merits yet to be examined, while a separate cassation appeal is pending before the Conseil d'État after a December 4 emergency appeal was rejected.
- Local officials and many residents oppose the project and call the claim disproportionate, with the mayor saying the small commune lacks the resources to match the developer’s legal push.