The implantation of wind turbines can be a normal environmental disturbance

Following the installation of a wind farm, neighbors are seeking legal compensation for the loss of value of their property. According to them, the visual impact of wind turbines damages their nearby environment by creating a landscape disorder that will have consequences when reselling their property.

The expert reports and the bailiff's report state that the noise emitted by wind turbines during day and night is below the regulatory threshold. The wind farm is settled to the prescribed distance of the dwellings. In addition, a wood separates them and provides visual and sound protection to the inhabitants. Finally, the elegant and peaceful hamlet is located in an ordinary rural area.

The Court of Appeal points out that no one has an acquired right to the conservation of his environment.

Taking into account the respective rights of each party, the judge compares the depreciation of the real estate value of neighboring properties, as assessed by the expert, with the public interest objective pursued by the development of wind energy. It decides that the environmental disturbance caused by the presence of wind turbines does not, by its gravity, exceed the normal neighboring disadvantages.

On appeal, the Cour de cassation upheld that decision and dismissed the appeal.