On June 8-9, 2022, SHREC partners and stakeholders met in Lyon, France, for a two-day study visit. The study visit was hosted by the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Énergie Environnement environmental protection organization. During the meeting, participants explored clean energy production at Lyon, visited a wood-energy heating network in Notre-Dame-de-l’Osier, saw the Préau des Colibris project and much more.
Renewable Energy Policies in Lyon’s Metropole
The first day of the visit started with the presentations hosted by the local climate and energy agency of Lyon. Philippe Gualpa-Bonaro, the President of Agence Locale de l'Energie et du Climat de la Métropole de Lyon (ALEC Lyon) and the Vice President of the Metropolis of Lyon presented the actions carried out by this France city.
Later, participants took part in a tour of renewable heat, which included a presentation of a solar thermal system installed in a modern residential building; and a geothermal heating system installed in the Fine Art Museum and a modern complex of public buildings.
Citizen investment in renewable energies
On the second day, participants explored the wood-energy heating network at the Notre-Dame-de-I’Osier town, which supplies a Retirement Home, a school and ten social housing buildings with heat and hot water. The network produces 550 MWh of heat per year, saving 100 tonnes of CO2 annually. The unit is using forestry chips produced within a 30km radius and is built, financed and operated by the ForestEner – a public/private/citizen actor carrying out wood energy projects.
The next stop of the day was at the "Préau des Colibris". Recognized as a good practice at the European level, the "Préau des Colibris" in Voiron (Isère) town is a first citizen solar thermal project in France. One of the owners of the four apartments presented how the small community of Préau des Colibris operates and benefits from solar energy installations.
The last but do not least, "tour de France" presented the legal and financial study on the development of citizen heating projects. Finally, EnRisk's strategy game on financing the development of a project closed the meeting.
The study visit to Lyon enabled stakeholders and SHREC partners to understand the challenges and opportunities ahead of the implementation of renewable heating in France. The two-day site visit event create a space to share experiences, learn from each other, and explore new solutions in terms of clean energy solutions. Participants included stakeholders from local authorities, stakeholders from the private sector and partners of SHREC.
Cover photo by Romain Girot on Unsplash.
