The EU-funded CoResponsibility in District Energy Efficiency and Sustainability (CoRDEES) project aims to achieve a breakthrough for energy efficiency in Paris by creating a new energy ecosystem at Clichy-Batignolles, a 54-hectare eco-district currently under construction. The aim is to develop solutions based on the district’s smart grid that will increase energy efficiency levels to 50 kilowatt-hours per m² per year and cut carbon dioxide emissions by 90 %.
- 02 February 2018
Smart grids at the local level are central to building a zero-carbon city. With the CoRDEES project, we are experimenting with smart grid solutions and effective governance to reach ambitious energy performance targets. We hope the Clichy-Batignolles eco-district will act as a model for other cities.
CoRDEES combines three solutions in an integrated approach. It establishes an energy governance system called the Urban Energy New Deal, which collectively defines the energy commitments and contractual, financial and regulatory conditions necessary for the project to succeed.
The partners will also develop a platform to consolidate and analyse, in real time, energy data from buildings and public facilities such as electric vehicle stations, street lighting and automated waste collection in the area. They will use this to set out scenarios for improving energy management.
Finally, the project will test new services for achieving energy efficiency goals in real conditions. The establishment of an urban sustainability trustee facilitator brings together all the elements of the project to provide technical recommendations, coordinate the creation and implementation of new energy-saving services and support the community in managing energy use.
Efficient solutions to energy challenges
The population of the Paris region is expected to reach 11 million by 2030, which is likely to raise overall energy consumption by around 30 %. At the centre of the region, Paris itself, like many cities, faces energy challenges, with over 93 % of its energy coming from imported sources. These challenges require efficient solutions, particularly in the context of rapid urbanisation.
Under development since 2002, Clichy-Batignolles is well placed to identify such solutions. A total of 85 % of its energy is supplied from its 200 000 m² of solar panels and the geothermal wells several hundred metres below ground in Paris, while 83 % of its heat requirements are met by geothermal energy. In addition, by 2020, 3.5 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of solar energy will be produced in Clichy-Batignolles, whereas only 3 GWh were produced in the whole of Paris as recently as 2014.
A range of building uses and stakeholders
CoRDEES is being implemented on an area of around 15 hectares in the west of Clichy-Batignolles, which is the last part of the district to be developed and comprises 12 buildings for various uses. These include housing, accommodation for doctoral students and migrant workers, shops, services, schools, nurseries, day-care facilities, a cinema, a gymnasium and an activity centre. Around 3 000 people will live in the project area and 4 000 will work there.
A particularly successful aspect of CoRDEES so far has been the strategy to engage a variety of stakeholders. As a result, the project benefits from the input of energy producers and suppliers, network operators, actors in the property, construction and investment sectors, building managers and end users. Given the diversity of interests among these parties, reaching a consensus on new energy solutions is one of the main challenges. The combination of renewable energy sources and building uses involved further underlines the challenges faced.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “CoRDEES – Co-Responsibility in District Energy Efficiency & Sustainability” is EUR 5 455 995, with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 4 364 796 through the “Urban Innovative Actions” Initiative for the 2014-2020 programming period.