“Our bet: to make the areas of economic activity new areas of energy production, energy services and solidarity circuits. “ Guillaume Ayné is the project development director BoucL Energyworn for 18 months, from EverWatt and its partners. The company, which specializes in the production of decentralized renewable energy, is investing, with the support of Energy transition bank and Crédit Agricole Sud Rhône-Alpes, nearly 4 million euros to transform the economic activity zone (ZAE) of the Champ-Roman of Saint-Martin-d’Hères in a vast site of production and self-consumption of green electricity.
It will also be the most important site in France to date as all 180 collective self-consumption projects in France amount to an output of 6.2 MW. However, only the Saint-Martin-d’Hères project will generate a power of 3 MW – which is the maximum authorized by the regulation – with a production of 3.5 GWh per year.
7,500 photovoltaic panels installed in 18 months
As Christophe Ferrari, president of Grenoble Alpes Métropole, partner of the project, recalled during its official launch on Tuesday 11 October, this local energy circuit of Isère will be “save 350 tons of CO2 per year, the equivalent of 350 round trips from Paris to New York by plane”.
Concretely, within 12-18 months, almost 7,500 photovoltaic panels it will be installed within the zone of economic activity. “We have no intention of artificializing the soilssays Jérôme Ouczarczak, EverWatt project manager. We will manage the parking lots which are islands of heat in the summer. We will cover them by installing shades. We will also use the build roofs existing. “
23 shareholders
Within the ZAE, eight sites have been identified which are destined to become photovoltaic production centers. “These partners will produce energy on their available land, explains Jérôme Ouczarcza. They will thus be able to consume and share the surplus with others who have no land available and who will only be consumers. ” From 23 the partner facilities of this operation include the Technical Scientific Building CenterSMEs like Precitecnica, My fitness gymlarge groups like Lidl or Rent a car…
Five social owners of the Isère are also involved, including the SDH et Housing of the Isère Alps.
“They are concerned about the collective consumption of their buildings (VMC, elevators, collective lighting, electric heating in common areas, etc.), observes Guillaume Ayné. Tomorrow we hope that this will also benefit housing. For the moment we only know how to do it on the scale of the building. “
lowest price
The interest of the project is ecological since it involves locally producing and consuming electricity from renewable sources. This generated electricity is injected into the public network‘EnedisEverWatt partner, which is responsible for calculating the price to be paid for each consumer (located within a maximum diameter of 2 km) according to a distribution key.
The price will be lower than traditional electricity, as Guillaume Ayné attests:
“When we make collective self-consumption, we are not tied to the price of gas, but to the price of the infrastructure installation, whose duration is at least twenty years. ”
EverWatt will take care of the maintenance of the plants. Jérôme Ouczarcza specifies that the life of a photovoltaic panel exceeds 30 years and that 95% of what constitutes it is recyclable.
Apartment
The only downside in terms of carbon footprint of the operation: the panels that will be installed in Saint-Martin-d’Hères will be produced … in China !
“Unfortunately today it is impossible to get your hands on panels produced in Europe”Guillaume Ayné regrets.
Finally, as EverWatt president André May pointed out, the BoucL Energie project in Saint-Martin-d’Hères will be replicated elsewhere in France as EverWatt plans to develop 100 by 2025. No less than 24,000 ZAEs are listed in France, enough to keep EverWatt busy for many years.
