Good practice:

The Grenoble area's district heating network : renewable energy, affordable for vulnerables groups

The municipalities of the Grenoble metropolitan area have been concerned since the 1960s with providing their inhabitants with inexpensive energy.
The economic and ecological crises have encouraged them to introduce renewable energies into their mix.
The Heating Company is a local public company, which has activities of production and distribution of heat and the maintenance and energy performance of the heating installations of collective buildings. By delegation of public service, the Company manages the Grenoble metropolitan area heating network, as well as the incineration and energy recovery unit.
As early as 1994, the Heating Company made a commitment to accelerate the use of renewable energies to replace fossil fuels, with a sustained effort for wood biomass.
In 2020, the share of renewable energy reached 79.3% thanks to an increase in the share of wood, with the objective of reaching 85% of RES by 2022 and 100% by 2033.
All new buildings within the distribution perimeter or undergoing major work are required to be connected to the heating network.
Although the heating network is not specifically aimed at modest households and does not have the right to differentiate its prices according to the public, nevertheless more than 19 % of the population of the municipalities served is considered as vulnerable.
key figures :
- 2nd largest heating network in France
- 177 kms of pipelines
- 100,000 heated housing equivalents 1/3 of the population of the area

The planned investment over the period of the public service delegation (2018-2033) is €159 million.
229 employees work at the heating company.
The share of renewable and recovered energy is 79.3%, including 42% from the household waste incineration unit and 27% from wood energy.

1/3 of the inhabitants of the conurbation are served, (100,000 people, 19% of whom are considered poor)
The heating company contains its costs in order to offer a stable energy tariff that is accessible to the greatest number of people.
For 8 years the network has been awarded the "EcoRéseau" label by the association of local authorities AMORCE.
The average bill for a household connected to the Grenoble heating network is €657/year compared to an average of €1,684 in France

To guarantee equal access, energy from the heating network is sold at fixed rate regardless of who receives it. It is not possible for the heating company to set up a specific policy to combat fuel poverty.
The increase in the share of RES must be done in consultation with neighbouring territories.

Once the heating network has been properly distributed, it is up to the local authorities to decide on a renewable energy development policy. Automatic all buildings connected to the heating network benefit from this contribution.
In addition, the single tariff guarantees each beneficiary the same share of RES in the energy mix.
Finally, it seems very important to us to consider the heat needs in the RES development policies. The share of renewable energy can be high with a very good control of costs.
The potential for transfer to other densely populated regions is therefore high.