Loire-Atlantique: 350 demonstrators against an XXL methanizer project – Le Figaro

A demonstration gathered 350 people on Saturday September 17 in Corcoué-sur-Logne, south of Nantes, to denounce the largest methanizer project in France intended to produce biogas from organic waste, noted an AFP journalist. “They will know what a Gallic village is,” quipped Claude Naud, the mayor of this town of some 3,000 inhabitants, who called for “a moratorium” on this project initiated in 2019. The demonstrators, who had paraded a first time in February 2021, were 500 according to the organizers and 350 according to the gendarmerie. Attac and EELV flags one showing a cow transformed into a gas canister and covered with the word “no”. Flags of Attac and EELV were also visible. Read alsoMethanisation: south of Nantes, an XXL project worries local residents“Farmers are not made to produce plants that we will burn, destroy, to make them ferment, to produce gas”, commented Julien Durand, retired farmer from Notre-Dame-des-Landes, who was an emblematic player in the fight against the abandoned airport project in the north of the department. The role of farmers “is first and foremost to feed the population healthily”, he added. The scale of this methanizer is “too large because it is not meeting a local need , so we have a lot of transport, importing raw materials, as well as exporting products,” continued Julien Durand, whose presence was welcomed by the organizers. cooperative of cattle breeders Coop d’Herbauges and the Danish company Nature Energy. Read also The smoky rise of methanization The idea is to provide farmers with additional income through the management of their livestock effluents and slurry, as well as intermediate crops (rye, sorghum) to make gas. The objective is to transform nearly 500,000 tonnes of organic matter per year. Anaerobic digestion has been a booming activity for 10 years, but often arouses fears of nuisances (pollution, odors, etc.) among local residents.