What Autonomy is Available in the Design of Energy Solutions within French Urban Development Projects? The Example of District Heating
Résumé
This chapter explains the deployment of district heating and cooling networks within urban development projects, by first showing that these projects appear as windows of opportunity to give concrete expression to and assert a certain local energy autonomy, even if the control of energy system by the local authorities remains limited by a set of factors. It then focuses on the organization of energy design within an urban development project in the Bordeaux region. The chapter shows that the development of energy systems appears as a fragmented process between different players with a low level of coordination. It discusses trends that aim at increased integration of urban energy systems' design and implementation. The study of deployment of district heating systems when implementing French urban development projects enables the evidencing of the elements to take into account within the reflection around political local autonomy as regards energy.