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France's presidential palace digs deep to cut fossil fuels and heating bills

By Alison Hird - RFI
France AP - Thomas Coex
JUN 7, 2023 LISTEN
AP - Thomas Coex

Works are underway to install geothermal energy in Paris's Elysée Palace, bringing the huge 18th century building into line with President Emmanuel Macron's goals on renewables.

Shortly before becoming president in 2017, Macron pledged to boost energy efficiency through improved home insulation as part France's climate commitments under the Paris Agreement.

He vowed to banish so called passoires thermiques – literally “thermal sieves” – the term used for the two lowest categories of France's Energy Performance Certificate scheme, with ratings of “F” and “G”.

And in his Bastille Day speech last year, Macron talked of collectively entering into a mindset of "energy sobriety".

Macron's own home, the 365-room Elysée Palace, was unfortunately something of a thermal sieve itself.

A study by the non-profit WE Demain in 2021 found the building leaked heat from its many doors and windows during the winter, while over-heating quickly during the summer led to heavy reliance on air-conditioning.

WE Demain gave the Elysée an embarrassing “E” rating, which the palace did not publicly contest.

In 2020 the NGO estimated the Elysée buildings – spanning 32,460 square metres – cost €345,159 to heat, while the electricity bill was said to be €412,881.

However the palace has little room for manoeuvre. As a heritage-listed building its facade cannot be modified, which means double glazing or insulating from the outside is not an option.

To slash its energy bills, the palace has opted to install geothermal energy. This week work began on digging deep into its gardens to extract heat from the ground.

65-metre boreholes

The system involves capturing energy from groundwater to either heat or cool the palace's rooms.

A team has begun drilling a borehole at the bottom of the garden some 65 metres deep, or about the height of Notre Dame Cathedral.

Cold water will then be injected into the ground where the rock is 15°C or 16°C year-round.

The naturally warmed water will then be channelled up to the surface though a vast network of underground pipes to heat pumps inside the palace.

Thanks to geothermal energy up to 5kw/h of heat will be produced using just 1kw/h of electricity, Jean-Loup Lacroix, head of the Strategeo team carrying out the work, told France Inter radio.

The renewable energy would compensate for a large part of the Elysée's heating, he said.

Cutting energy bills by a third

Strategeo said the team had to be careful to avoid the many pipes, emergency evacuation tunnels, and bunkers nestling beneath the palace.

But there are considerable savings in sight.
Yannick Desbois, director general of services at the Elysée said the aim was to cut energy bills by two-thirds, and tackle the effects of climate change.

“Geothermal will allow us to reduce emissions by 80 percent,” he told Le Parisien daily.

Estimated to cost €600,000, the measure is expected to pay for itself within five years – although it's part of a bigger modernisation project costing €4 million. Work should be finished by spring 2024.

In France, only 1 percent of heating is geothermal.

The government in February announced a plan to boost geothermal energy, increasing aid for the installation of heat pumps to €5,000 per household.

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