Energy renovation: 11.000 public buildings supported by a program dedicated to communities

Some 11.000 public buildings in 6.000 municipalities, including 41% of schools, are supported under the Actee 2 program, which aims to accelerate the energy renovation of community buildings.

Launched in 2020 by the Ministry of Ecological Transition, "Action by local authorities for energy efficiency" (Actee) is a 110 million euro program, financed by energy saving certificates (CEE), which supports local authorities in the energy renovation of their buildings and aims to replace the use of fossil fuels with less carbon-intensive energies.

The "tertiary decree" requires public and private buildings of more than 1.000 m2 to reduce their final energy consumption by 40% by 2030, and 60% by 2050.

The funds from this program, led by the FNCCR (National Federation of Conceding and Regulated Communities) and the Association of Mayors of France, have financed 380 "flow economizer" positions, i.e. energy specialists responsible for advising on and planning renovations. They also provide communities with tools such as energy savings simulators or carry out energy studies.

"On average, 35% of the buildings audited have already been renovated and an additional 35% are expected in the coming years," indicated Guillaume Perrin, director of Actee, during a press briefing. For him, the program has become in five years "the public service for the renovation of public buildings."

In addition to buildings, a sub-programme aimed at supporting local authorities in changing public lighting which consumes a lot of electricity has enabled the renovation of 2,8 million light points in 9.100 municipalities, i.e. a quarter of public lighting.

Another sub-program aimed at accelerating the "electrical erasure" of tertiary buildings to optimize consumption during peak hours has made it possible to support 400 buildings thanks to an agreement with RTE (manager of the electricity transmission network).

A new program, Actee+, was launched in early 2023 and will run until 2026, with a budget of 220 million euros.

The CEE system requires energy suppliers to make savings for those who consume energy, and records the savings made. Suppliers have a volume of CEE to obtain for the period 2022-2025 and to return to the administration, failing which they are exposed to heavy penalties.