Sébastien CONTAMINE Managing Director Aduhme, Local energy agency

1. alpheoa regional information and exchange of experiences network designed to better involve local authorities in sustainable energy schemes Sébastien CONTAMINE Managing Director Aduhme, Local energy agency Joint Seminar Krakow – Tuesday 29th November 2005

2. Aduhme, a local energy agency • Created in the framework of the SAVE II programme • City of Clermont-Ferrand and ADEME • Energy efficiency, renewable energy sources and sustainable development • Territories: urban area of Clermont-Ferrand and since 2002 Puy-de-Dôme County (650 000 inhabitants) • 6 employees • Annual budget: 350 000 € • Financial partners: local authorities, and energy local partners involved in Aduhme’s projects

3. Les collectivités territoriales et l’énergie… • Local authorities have a major role to play in what concerns following topics • Climate changes • Rational use of water and search for a better quality • Why ? • Local authorities are consumers • Local authorities can produce and distribute • Local authorities are in charge of the development of their territory • Local authorities can encourage the citizen to get involved in these environmental topics • Local authorities gets all the key factors to develop their territory in a sustainable way

4. A significant lack of interest concerning sustainable energy topics • Structural reasons • Lack of knowledge/competence from municipal personnel (especially for small cities) • Energy falls outside the scope of local authorities’ activities • Lack of knowledge of local energy stakes • Why? • A so complicated topic for non-expert people (elected and municipal administrative staffs) • Energy is so cheap! • Other municipal priorities (security) • Elected people and municipal technicians know so little things about energy stakes • Huge lobbies in France such as EDF and Gaz de France for instance • Lack of information and disinformation (opened energy markets) • Lack of involvement from the Regional Council !

5. Regional situation was… • Because of no information, no involvement • Main idea: communication and regular information • Major point to develop: exchange of experiences • Coherent territory scale: regional area • Stimulate local and regional partnerships with energy experts and operators in order to set up a genuine network • Set up a kind of a long-term marketing strategy

6. Main objectives • Information, advise and raising awareness towards elected people and technicians • Stimulate exchange of experiences • Make the identification of local sustainable energy experts easier for municipalities • Set up and experiment an administrative and technical assistance scheme towards municipalities holding a sustainable energy project … « I know nothing about it, so I do nothing »

7. Target groups • 1,310 cities • 250 municipalities communities • County councils (4) • Regional council • Any other public communities

8. Several topics • Energy efficiency • Renewable energy sources • Rational use of water … sustainable development of our territories

9. Identified means • A local actors network: local authorities and energy experts • A technical guide as starting point of a global strategy • Technical information sheets (50) • Regional good practice sheets (20) • An Internet website (www.aduhme.org/alphéo) • An information letter regularly sent to local authorities • … • Communication actions to be programmed and carried out later

10. Communication actions to be carried out… • New sheets to be integrated into the technical guide • Information about new technologies, public subsidies, etc. • Good practices: new sites to be visited • Visits of new good practice sites • Technical training sessions • Working groups • Regional conferences … a sustainable network for a regional action programme

11. One first example… • A 2-day journey for elected people to attend the national energy conference in Grenoble - December 2002) • Topic : « Decentralized energy production: the role of local authorities • 40 participants from Auvergne Region

12. Local parterships… • Financial contribution from ERDF: 1.7 Measure « environmental impact » • Financial partners • ADEME Auvergne • Conseil Régional Auvergne • Conseils Généraux • DIREN Auvergne • Agence de l’eau Loire Bretagne • Parcs Naturels Régionaux • EDF/Gaz de France • Dexia Crédit Local • FG3E • Technical partners • Amorce, AFE, AITF, ATEE, Auvergne Promobois, CLER, SER, Université Blaise Pascal, Energie-Cités, etc.

13. Financial contribution from structural funds • Total cost of the project: about 126,000 € • Contribution from ERDF: 49% • 1.7 measure: “environmental impact” • Administrative follow-up for structural funds: Regional council since 2003 • Administrative bid: very easy to fill in (different from new calls for proposals – EC) • Positive point: large involvement from local partners and local authorities • Technical advisor for this measure: ADEME

14. Technical information sheets • 50 sheets • Available information • Local situation, energy stakes • Technical approach • applications for local authorities and recommendations • Available subsidies and technical/administrative assistance

15. Les fiches de bonne pratique • 20 regional good practices sheets • The city of Dunières gets its own biomass boiler » • Main objective: promote biomass and try and convince local authorities to get their own wood boiler

16. Obstacles we have to face… • 2 upon 4 county councils get involved into the regional network (political differences) • About 12 months to gather all financial contributions • Administrative service in charge of ERDF: not in habit to get/manage such projects • Communication activities: local authorities have difficulties in understanding concrete results • We are currently facing problems to gather the interest of Regional and county councils (other priorities) • One solution would be to have a contract which lasts several years

17. Factors of success • More than 150 elected people attended the council conferences (KOM) • A technical support well appreciated by anyone • Local partners are waiting for new actions in the framework of the network • alpheo network helps local elected people to think about sustainable energy topics