100 million EUR will be invested to finance the renovation and extension of the heating network in Caen-la-Mer's urban community in Normandie • French district heating networks are still not sufficiently developed to stay on track with government goals - new infrastructure and more renewable energies are needed to catch up • Heating network extension project validated in Le Mans Metropole which will supply new districts with heat, with the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050 • Read more about the developments in sustainable heating and cooling in this month's news update from France
The Colombelles waste incineration plant receives waste from the Caen agglomeration, which is sorted before burned to produce heat. The heat exploitation contract will now soon be renewed and the network is planned to be renovated and extended. Certain pipes date back to the 1970s and needs to be upgraded. The network provides heat to parts of Caen and Hérouville, with future plans to also supply the Clemenceau district, the University and the La Pierre-Heuzé district.
Tenders will soon be launched for the renewal of the operating contract, for a period of 25 years, where the investments will be carried out by the future concessionaire. The works are planned to be executed in parallel with the extension of the tramway network.
Read more in article by DHC News here
Read more in article by Ouest-France here
According to a new report by the “Cour de Comptes” (Court of Auditors), the French district heating networks are not developing fast enough to attain the goal to multiply the quantity of heat and cold recovery by five between 2012 and 2030. While the urban networks have proved efficient in contributing to the energy transition, the current pace will only allow for a renewable heat consumption of 2.26 M tons by 2030, while the delivery target was 3.4 M tons.
In order to catch up, the Court has emphasized need for an increased share of renewable energies. The networks will also need long-term investments into new infrastructure, more efficient organization and management of the networks, and better information on the economic data of urban heating. This will, in turn, help inform and steer national energy policy and promote better management of networks. Due to the weight of the investments, about 80% of all the heat networks are currently subject to DSPs (public service delegations), where companies are contracted, on a concession basis, to manage the public service of providing urban heating and cooling.
Read more in article by DHC News here
Read more on the Court de Comptes website here
The heating network in Le Mans, created in 2017, today stretches over 40km and serves 18,000 houses. The heat is generated by a waste-to-energy plant that recovers 140,000 tons of waste per year and uses it to produce both heat and electricity before sending it back to the network. The plant employs a heat pump that recovers fatal heat at the outlet of the turbine. It currently helps save 42,000 tons of CO2 per year (if compared to a production of heat by gas) and the Metropole is aiming for carbon neutrality by 2050.
The Le Mans metropole has decided to reduce energy consumption by 30% by 2030 and greenhouse gas emissions by 40% over the same period. To do so, they have signed an amendment to the heating network concession contract which binds them to Syner’gie (a subsidiary of Dalkia) until 2040. Syner’gie is committing 20 M EUR to the works, including 14 M EUR to the 13 km extension of the network and 3 M EUR to install a gas boiler for winter peaks. The works are estimated to begin in the spring of 2022, whereas new subscribers should be able to connect by 2023.
Read more in article by Ouest-France here
Read more on Le Mans Métropole Waste Energy Unit here
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