Good practice:

FIREWOOD DISTRICT HEATING COMMUNITY NETWORK IN LUCINGES

Annemasse-les-Voirons agglomeration aims to reduce GHG emissions by 75% per inhabitant by 2050. Composed of 120 municipalities, representing about 400,000 inhabitants. The municipality of Lucinges, part of the agglomeration, has decided to install a firewood district heating network allowing to supply six communal buildings, 57 collective housing units, five single-family homes and the two businesses with renewable heat and to replace the aging oil-fired boilers.
The municipality of Lucinges delegated the production and distribution and sale of heating for a period of 20 years. The municipality requested the project to be financed with at least 40% of local funds but is also shareholder of ForestEner at 4% of the capital.
The company ForestEner was selected for the design, implementation, financing and operation of the project. Additionally, the wood used to run the boiler room comes exclusively from a short circuit (less than 30 km).
Citizen funds were raised by Énergie Partagée (founding member and shareholder of ForestEner). Besides being shareholders, citizens can get involved in the governance of the project via Énergie Partagéeand can send a representative to the general assemblies of ForestEner. The inhabitants are also involved in the operation of the boilers, managing the ashes (which are even used to make artisanal soap), and thus allowing to decrease the operating cost of the wood boilers on the long run.

Financial resources: 430 000 € of grant from the Auvergne-Rhône- Alpes Region Alpes Region and citizen financing
Expertise in the legal and financial set-up of the project provided by ForestEner and Énergie Partagée
Involvement of citizens thanks to the local elected officials

Installation of two wood boilers of 150 and 330 kW
185 000 € of Shared Energy citizen funds invested on the 1 050 000 € total budget
Production of 1 100 MWh / year (the consumption of 110 households)
50 aging oil-fired boilers replaced by the heating network

Complex legal and financial arrangements for including citizens from the start of the project in a
public service delegation contract
Constraint of signing a 20-year contract for the local authority (long-term projection)
Low profitability of a small wood-energy heating network

This model can be replicated in any municipality with legal and financial aspects that can be adapted to the context and needs of local elected officials. The Lucinges model has been replicated in other municipalities in the region, such as Sassenage and Quaix-en-Chartreuse.
The presence of a company offering turnkey wood boilers is also a replicability factor.