France: Setting up smart energy storage and consumption

Setting up smart energy storage and consumption

Bretons will soon be enjoying greater energy security thanks to smarter management of energy demand. Ideas from Spain, the UK and Portugal inspired the French region to fund new ways of storing, converting and consuming energy.

Policy improved directly by the Managing Authority for EU Structural Funds in Brittany.

© Dominique Leroux

The project ‘Smart energy transition to upgrade regional performance’ (SET-UP) brings together six regions from six countries around the theme of energy performance. The project partners share solutions for better energy demand management, which can reduce energy consumption and provide greater energy security, and has other socio-environmental and economic benefits.

The Regional Council of Brittany and Bretagne Development Innovation joined the project with the ambition of accelerating the energy and ecological transition in their region. Participation in the project has helped them to develop smart grids in the region, one of the key priorities in Brittany’s energy transition strategy. SET-UP also helped the Council to fine tune the approach and content of two calls for proposals under its regional Structural Funds programme. Close study of cases from the UK and Spain taught Brittany that a wider range of energy storage and conversion technologies needs to be covered by the first call. The inspiration from Portugal influenced the second call, which included individual energy self-production and consumption loops as an alternative to centralised energy production. Now Brittany has a call for collective energy self-consumption, promoting sharing of energy between different sites with complementary consumption profiles.

FRANCE