The Marseille administrative court of appeal gave the green light on Friday June 26 to the continued operation of the Gardanne biomass plant (Bouches-du-Rhône), the largest in France, judging that its impact studies on the local wood supply were “sufficient”.
This decision is an important victory for its operator, GazelEnergie, a subsidiary of the EPH group of Czech businessman Daniel Kretinsky, owner since 2019 of the site, entangled for several years in a legal battle initiated by environmental associations.
Forced by the Council of State in 2023 to take into account the indirect effects of its activity, particularly on local forests, the company had to review its supply plan. At the same time, it had to launch a vast public inquiry into the environmental impact of the wood supply for its power station.
This new supply plan, validated by the State in November 2025 which accompanied it with additional requirements, provides for the use of 450,000 tonnes of wood per year, approximately half of which comes from a radius of 240 kilometers. It had been challenged in court by France Nature Environnement (FNE) which has therefore just been dismissed.
“Bad news for forests” according to an NGO
In their deliberations, the administrative judges consider that “the information relating to the environmental effects of its wood supply is now sufficient and the environmental authorization complies with the law”. They add that “the complementary public inquiry took place under regular conditions and that the shortcomings which affected the initial studies were sufficiently remedied”.
Finally, they partly criticize certain past judicial decisions favorable to environmental associations, recalling that it is not up to the court “to replace public authorities in public policy choices, including in matters of energy transition”. “In view of all the requirements imposed by the State in 2025, of which the administration is required to ensure monitoring and proper execution, the environmental authorization, thus modified, no longer disregards the legal rules applicable to installations classified for environmental protection,” continues the administrative court of appeal.
“This is very bad news for forests, which are our best ally against climate warming, which we are currently experiencing in full force,” regretted Judith Sébert, FNE Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur lawyer. A former 600 MW coal factory, the Provence thermal power station had decided to convert to biomass, a process which, by burning wood, produces energy. It now plans to produce 150 MW, enough to power some 125,000 homes.
