At the global level, it comes up against fossil resource limitations and climate constraints and is a source of geopolitical tensions.
At the local level, this attitude tends to make consumers, citizens and local and regional authorities feel less responsible by breaking the link between energy and territory.
This has not always been the case.
In the past, territories and their inhabitants were extremely cautious in the way they managed their few scarcely available resources, i.e. local energy sources.
Priding ourselves on modernity, we gradually abandoned the knowledge of our territories’ energy potential from the sun, the wind, water, ground and underground heat, free heat, wastewater, waste and biomass.
Territories must rediscover their hidden treasures in order to secure their energy transition.
Prepare a spatial inventory of local energy potential to support urban planning, building and retrofitting decision-making
Integrating this data into mapping tools (GIS) will help planners, developers and town planners systematically take local potential into account, thus ensuring a balance between available resources in the territory and existing and future needs, as well as facilitating the implementation of local energy solutions.
Cities and towns that show the way
Mine water as a renewable energy source - Heerlen (NL)
In 2008, this old mining city started operating a geothermal station using heat from the water used to inundate the mine shafts after the site closed.
The station is divided into two sections.
825m deep mineshafts provide access to underground mine water at a temperature of 35°C. The water is used for heating purposes and is then conveyed at 17°C to other mineshafts, where it is stored before being used as a coolant.
Over 400 newly-built houses, 55,000 m² of new tertiary buildings and 84,000 m² of existing office space have been equipped with heating and cooling systems using this mine water energy. The CO2 emission savings generated by this concept are estimated at 55%.
Paris’ hidden treasures...
Read the full proposal