The Midi Pyrénées, a region in the south west of France, is one of the most dynamic regions in the country in terms of industry, economy and population. It combines four national parks, covering around 20 per cent of the region’s territory, and large industry players such as Airbus and EADS. Midi Pyrénées now faces the tough challenge of protecting its rich environment while at the same time allowing for further industrial development of the region. In January 2012, the Conseil Régional (regional government) of Midi Pyrénées presented an in-depth report on energy, climate and air quality in the region. It was presented to the French state and sets out the necessary measures that must be taken in the region in order to implement best practices in energy saving and environmental protection. The recommendations focus on the region’s primary industrial energy consumers.

The situation: Energy and environment in the Midi-Pyrénées region

The consumption of the region is growing by one per cent annually, faster than the national average (0.6 per cent). Nuclear energy is the region’s primary contributor with the activities of the Golfech plant in Midi-Pyrénées’ département Tarn-et-Garonne providing 70 per cent of the region’s energy demand. Overall renewable energy represents 27 per cent of the total energy production in the region, with the remainder being covered by fossil resources oil and natural gas. The renewable energy sources in the region are mainly represented by hydroelectric power which accounts for 93.95 per cent of renewable energy supplies. In fact the Midi Pyrénées has more hydro-electric plants than any other region in France. While the hydropower is used to generate electricity, the region also relies on biomass installations to supply its heat requirements. Biomass represents 40.7 per cent of the renewable heat sources in the region. Other renewable energy sources such as solar and wind energy are also used. For example, in April 2011, the region had a total of 291 wind turbines in operation, with a total installed capacity of 582MW and a further 92 in the planning phase.

The main energy consumers in the region are transportation, agriculture, industry and the building sector, which account for 80 per cent of the energy consumption between them. The primary concern for the Conseil Régional is to reduce the levels of CO₂ and other greenhouse gas emissions of these sectors, as they have increased by 13 per cent between the years 1990 and 2008 (12.7 million tons of CO₂ in 2008).

                         

The energy plan until 2020:

The two underlying goals of the energy plan are to educate consumers, citizens and stakeholders to continuously raise their awareness and to increase the promotion of energy-savvy, environmentally friendly projects.

The energy plan has several objectives, which were created for and by the region:

-          reduce energy consumption, mainly of the two largest energy consumers, the building and transportation sectors

-          reduce greenhouse gas emissions

-          develop renewable energy production

-          reduce and prevent air pollution.

Further factors are taken into consideration, such as population growth. The region’s population is expected to grow by an estimated 13 per cent between 2005 and 2020, which will have a direct impact on energy demand, unless significant efficiency improvements are achieved in the targeted sectors. The aforementioned objectives have been set according to national and international commitments taken by the region in an energy and environmental context.

The specifics laid out in the plan include the reduction of the building sector’s energy consumption by at least 38 per cent and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent by 2020 (compared to 2005 levels), in order to bring them back to their 1990 levels. The 2012 programme also aims to have builders and engineers implement the new RT2012 thermal regulation for new buildings, which will see buildings constructed prior to 2000 (representing 60 percent of the housing stock in the region) refurbished, renovated and retrofitted to conserve heat.

Concerning the report’s socio-economic targets, future initiatives will see the Conseil Régional becoming more involved in the day-to-day management of the region’s companies. The Conseil Régional will help to organise employee training programmes on energy saving measures, it will partner with companies that have decided to implement the new ISO 50001 standard[1] in their projects, and also help companies create new environmentally friendly partnerships. At a consumer level, the region will continue to educate its inhabitants through awareness campaigns, to encourage them to recycle, compact and compost their waste.

                                 

In total the region has listed 48 initiatives that will be undertaken between 2012 and 2020, in order to improve the overall energy landscape of the region and to follow the environmental protection and climate change prevention measures laid out by the European Union.

In its current form, the 2012 programme is ambitious, yet heavily focused on nature conservation and achieving efficiency gains on the demand-side. However, it seems to neglect the potential of efficiency gains on the supply-side, e.g. through upgrades of existing plants or the distribution infrastructure. It furthermore does not define concrete goals for the expansion of renewable energy in the region either in terms of a share of renewables of overall energy production or what type of renewable energies should be supported.

 

Source: Schéma Régional Climat-Air-Energie de Midi Pyrénées 2012

Submited by Refer

• energy efficiency
• France
• Midi-Pyrénées
• Renewable energy