Protecting the planet and acting for future generations
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Grand plan for saving costs and local energy production:
the municipality has enrolled Cannes in an innovative approach to sustainable energy self-sufficiency in order to combat global warming, build the future and protect purchasing power.
Environmental protection and sustainable development are priority actions for David Lisnard. Since 2014, several concrete, and often pioneering, initiatives have been deployed early in order to integrate the ecological challenges into every municipal project.
Today, the Mayor of Cannes is intensifying this voluntarist approach and enrolling the town, and the intercommunality, in a major plan for saving costs and for local decarbonized and economically viable energy production. As of September 2022, this shall be made a reality, in particular by the scaling up of massive energy consumption reduction measures by the town services and by the execution of a Solar Power Plan to supply the municipal buildings and equipment. Consequently, Cannes will become the producer and consumer of its own electricity.
In accordance with the draft mandate by David Lisnard, these actions fall within the framework of a methodical and sustainable vision to make Cannes an environmental benchmark and render the Cannes region living zone as self-sufficient as possible. Furthermore, they reinforce Cannes’ strategy for combatting global warming and for energy sovereignty in order to protect the planet, improve the quality of life, build the future with a responsible ambition, and act in favour of future generations.
“In addition to the national nuclear, hydroelectric and renewable energy production systems, Cannes is deploying its own energy independence strategy. This virtuous ambition is itself part of an approach to combat global warming through the development of local decarbonized energies, to improve the quality of life and to protect the purchasing power of residents. This convergence of aims is translated in particular by the launch of a grand solar power plan for Cannes, in order to supply public buildings, the creation of a green hydrogen production plant for public transport and even the creation of several heating networks from green waste or the sea’s thermal energy. In addition, Cannes is increasing the initiatives to reduce energy consumption by the municipal services, by taking action on public lighting, renovating gas boilers and insulating communal buildings, and by raising both the town’s agents’ and the population’s awareness of the correct actions to be taken, by way of communication campaigns. These ecological and economic measures form the basis of our energy autonomy policy, which is concrete, motivational and positive. Cannes has anticipated. Today, it is increasing its actions and making its vision a reality.”
David Lisnard, Mayor of Cannes and chair of the Cannes Lérins Conurbation Authority
Massive reduction in energy consumption by the municipal services
Within the framework of its “Energy plan” launched in 2014, Cannes Town Hall has undertaken multiple actions to reduce its energy consumption. This plan aims to protect the environment, enrol the town in a sustainable development dynamic, and lower operating expenditure in order to protect the taxpayer. It includes:
- the renovation of the public lighting via low-consumption LED lights in order to reduce individual consumption. Consequently, consumption has reduced by 45% (per lamppost) and by 37% in total, to the tune of 6,576 MWh in 2021 (municipal investment of EUR 899,000). This operation has been carried out for all the major urban renewal projects (Allées de la Liberté, Croisette, Suquet, Hespérides, etc.) or road works (Boulevards Carnot, Paillassou, du Périer, du Riou, Avenue Maréchal Juin, etc.) and includes the change of 400 lamps per year. Since 2014, the town has recorded a major drop in consumption of 3,920 MWh/year in relation to public lighting. The continuation of these measures aims at an additional reduction in electricity consumption of 400 MWh/year;
- the renewal of the lighting in the town’s administrative buildings, schools and sporting infrastructures (stadiums and gyms) by low consumption LEDs. Motion detectors and timers will also be installed in premises. The reduction in electricity consumption is estimated at 200 MWh/year;
- the replacement, since 2014, of 25 boilers in the town’s buildings, schools, nurseries, youth & community centres, media libraries, stadiums and the municipal greenhouses by modern condensation boilers. These allow for saving approximately 20% gas while producing the same amount of heat (450 MWh/year saved over the 23 buildings that have benefitted from a new installation). By 2024, eight municipal buildings will benefit from this new equipment. These are the Frédéric Mistral and Bocca Parc school buildings, the Goscinny primary school, the Les Elfes and Les Petits Mousses nurseries, the Montrose Archives and the Maison des Associations (1 Avenue des Broussailles), as well as the municipal showers, for an estimated saving of 150 MWh/year;
- the reduction in the municipal car fleet (-123 vehicles since 2014) in order to protect the environment and lower operating expenses.
Furthermore, Cannes Town Hall is continuing the installation of swimming pool heat recuperation systems to both reheat new cold water and wash the sand filters without using the hot water in the pools. Operational since 2019 in Montfleury, this mechanism is now installed in Les Oliviers and will soon be installed in the Grand Bleu. The reduction in electricity consumption for each swimming pool is estimated at 20%, i.e. a total of 963 MWh/year for the three locations.
The measures deployed by Cannes Town Hall within the framework of the Energy Plan guaranteeing major potential reductions in its overall electricity and gas consumption: up to -44% for public lighting, up to -12% for building lighting and communal equipment and up to -13% for gas consumption (boilers and swimming pools).
In application of the DEET (Dispositif Éco Efficacité Tertiaire = Tertiary Eco-Efficiency Mechanism), known as the “tertiary decree”, the municipality will also perform an audit of the 40 most energy intensive communal buildings. This will give rise to the implementation of an action plan relating to thermal renewal, and the replacement of boilers and lighting.
In addition, reducing energy consumption happens through the sum of individual actions. Consequently, Cannes Town Hall is raising its agents’ awareness of best practices. This includes informative posters and instructions for the use of air conditioning (times and temperatures) before the winter heating season and the summer air conditioning season, reminders of the need to turn off electrical devices when leaving the premises (especially turning off computers outside of working hours). The following have also already been implemented: the removal of individual ad-hoc heating devices and the installation of timers on the IT electrical supplies in order to stop overnight sleep modes. An impactful communication campaign in favour of the energy transition has also been launched, on Wednesday, 7 September 2022 across the entire region, to encourage the population to reduce their carbon footprint through simple gestures.
Grand solar power plan: Cannes becomes an electricity producer
In accordance with the draft mandate by David Lisnard, Cannes Town Hall is launching a grand Solar Power Plan in order to boost its actions in favour of energy autonomy and strengthen its strict and methodical strategy for lowering expenses, within the context of rising prices that is affecting every sector, including energy.
With its exceptional sunshine levels, Cannes has clear assets for developing this technology. This consists in installing solar panels on the roofs of buildings in order to convert sunshine into electricity. The town also has many areas suited to collective solar power self-consumption projects compatible with preserving the urban landscape. These consist in sharing the electricity production between production sites and consumer sites, which are both geographically close and interconnected. The energy produced transits via the public electricity distribution network.
A feasibility study carried out in 2021 has allowed for identifying sites that could be “producers” and supply the surrounding municipal equipment in order to create an initial “self-consumption cluster”. At the start of 2023, 178 photovoltaic modules, each measuring 2 m², and 216 others will be installed on the roofs of the Maison des Services Publics in Ranguin and the Frédéric Mistral school buildings respectively, for a total municipal investment of EUR 250,000. The annual energy produced (equivalent to 233 MWh/year) will allow for meeting the needs of these two sites as well as those of the Les Elfes nursery, the Saint-Exupéry school and the Ranguin gym, to the tune of 30% total consumption by these five buildings.
Other “self-consumption clusters” are to be studied: around the Arlucs hall (in 2023, production of 250 MWh/year, i.e. 27% of the overall consumption of the buildings concerned) and around the Les Mûriers gym and the IUT (in 2024, production of 380 MWh/year, i.e. 36% of the overall consumption of the buildings concerned).
Cannes Town Hall is also studying experimenting with photovoltaic sunshades. This technological innovation uses extremely flexible solar panels to be installed on buildings with little load-bearing capacity on the roof. The Abadie 2 car park (450 m² on a pergola support to be built, for electricity production of 75 MWh/year), the municipal greenhouses (225 m², 42 MWh/year) and the Troncy boulodrome (900 m², 150 MWh/year) are the three sites targeted for launching this experiment.
The Cannes Lérins Conurbation Authority is committing to energy self-sufficiency
The Cannes Lérins Conurbation Authority (C.A.C.L.) is carrying out innovative projects and experiments in favour of the energy transition and intended to sustainably reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. These major actions must allow the Cannes living zone to be as self-sufficient as possible in order to meet its needs in terms of energy production and consumption, thanks to the development of decarbonized and economically viable local energies. This strategy comprises:
• the creation of a green hydrogen production plant to supply, in particular, the Palm Bus network buses and urban vehicles (tipper trucks, boats, helicopters). This project is supported by the ADEME in the amount of EUR 8.4 million. As of 2024, an electrolyser production station will be operational. The renewal of the intercommunal transport fleet is underway: 22 electric buses have been running since the start of 2021. By 2033, 54 buses and 9 dustbin lorries will be powered by green hydrogen;
• the deployment of a (biogas) power station via the methanation of household waste.
• the installation of 57 charging stations (WiiiZ) for electric vehicles across the Cannes living zone in order to meet the increasing demand from users;
• the installation of several ecological heat networks with:
- the production of energy from green waste (biomass power station), for the Frayère district under urban renewal, Coubertin stadium, the Grand Bleu swimming pool, school buildings and the future district planned on the Ansaldobreda site, by 2025;
- the creation of a marine power station (recuperation of the sea’s thermal energy) with a view to ensuring part of the heating and air conditioning requirements of the buildings along La Croisette by 2026;
• the use of the calories generated by the wastewater from the Aquaviva station (biomethane production) in order to supply cold to the company Thalès Alenia Space and heat to the Cannes-Marina property complexes in Mandelieu, by 2025;
• the development of a hydroelectric plant on the Siagne to supply the electrolyser for the future hydrogen plant (preliminary feasibility study underway)
Furthermore, the Cannes Lérins Conurbation Authority has, since November 2019, launched an OPAH (Opération Programmée d’Amélioration de l’Habitat = scheduled habitat improvement operation). The aim is to encourage works to insulate private and public buildings, thanks to the allocation of grants to owners, landlords and occupiers who are renovating their homes. Consequently, for an energy gain of at least 35%, the intercommunality allocates a grant ranging between 5 and 35% of the total amount of the works. More than EUR 120,000 in grants has already been allocated (Information available from the design office Urbanis, appointed by the C.A.C.L, by telephone on 07 62 77 33 52 or by e-mail to opah@cannespaysdelerins.fr).
Lastly, the C.A.C.L. plays the role of facilitator between the public and private partners who wish to deploy solar panel installations and makes available to them the solar potential study carried out in 2022, in order to equip some one hundred sites by 2025.
