To support, finance and support renewable energy projects, the Region has created several tools which will provide their skills, financing and engineering to local authorities and regional businesses. Latest tools to date: an SPL, local public company and an SEM, mixed economy company.
By Jean-Jacques Talpin.
A good objective in the region is to halve energy consumption by 2050, to triple renewable energy projects by 2030 and to become a positive energy territory. The investments to achieve this will obviously be costly. But the success of this objective also requires the mobilization of all regional stakeholders, the creation of tools and support for all those who want to carry out projects. Recognized as a “air climate energy” leader since 2014, the Region mobilized by voting in December 2021 for a “state of climate and social emergency” with 26 measures and actions in favor of ecological and energy transitions. Another step was taken in 2023 with the creation of the AREC (Regional Energy & Climate Agency) responsible for overseeing this regional policy.
Money and engineering
But for this agency to be fully operational, it had to equip itself with tools to allow it to intervene directly in the territories. This has been done since Friday, November 8 with the creation of two structures: an SPL, Local Public Company and an SEM, Mixed Economy Company. The first will intervene at the community level, in particular by providing its engineering for setting up projects and the second is supposed to become “ an investment vehicle » serving businesses. A partnership agreement was signed this Friday in Orléans by the regional president with several partners, the Banque des Territoires and the Regional Federation of Banks, both of which will provide their funds for the development of the projects. Several communities also give their credit to this birth at the baptismal font: the city of Blois and the Agglopolys agglomeration, the city of Argenton-sur-Creuse and the Éguzon-Argenton-Vallée de la Creuse community of communes. Others will follow, notably in Drouais.
“Massify the projects”
A first project will see the light of day in Argenton with the installation of photovoltaic panels in a multipurpose room. The Region, for its part, will develop an ambitious plan for the solarization of high schools. “ We now have all the tools to deploy our policy, rejoiced François Bonneau, communities were waiting for this technical, legal and financial structure to join us. It’s now done! “. For this, the region took its hand in the portfolio: AREC was given an initial budget of 800,000 euros while the capital of the SEM was increased to 6.2 million euros, 70% of which was contributed by the Region and the rest by regional banks. A double birth which Jérémie Godet, vice-president of the Region in charge of these energy issues, also welcomes: “ We have a large starting portfolio with a target of 100 million euros. We have all the elements to consolidate projects and make them operational ».
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