“A long time ago, we were heated with fuel oil,” notes the mayor (LR) of Compiègne, Philippe Marini. The first urban boiler room was delivered to Compiègne in 1966 to support major urban development with the creation of the southern districts and its social housing. » Since then, water has flowed under the bridges and the city of Compiègne has greened its heating network.
At the beginning of 2022, a biomass boiler room has completed the municipal gas boiler and thus supplies 9,000 collective housing units and municipal buildings with greener energy. Two thirds of heat production, between 65 and 67%, therefore comes from waste residues. wood collected in forests around 100 km away. Every year, 19,000 tonnes of tree waste, brought by trucks, burns there.
Savings on the bill
A new operation has started to extend the network and connect 1,000 additional housing equivalents. It will last 2 years and requires an investment of 8 million euros carried by Engie Solutions, subsidized to the tune of 1.6 million by the Energy Transition Agency (ADEME) and 1 million under energy saving certificates. ‘energy.
Nearly 4.5 km of sidewalks and roads will therefore be damaged to dig the trenches necessary to bury the pipes. The water that supplies radiators and running water will be cooler and will go from 180 to 108 degrees. Boulevard desUnis and the former Intermarché district are already under construction. Then come the streets bordering the School of Organic and Mineral Chemistry (ESCOM) or the Victoire meeting center.
It is mainly the south of the city, where the boiler room is installed, which is concerned. The boiler room, which has already cost 11.2 million euros, will now reach full capacity. “It would cost too much to connect the north side; we would have to relaunch a costly investment program,” emphasizes Philippe Marini. Maybe in the future…”
Furthermore, only collective housing and municipal buildings can be equipped. “Owners of individual houses prefer to remain independent,” says the mayor, “because with an urban boiler room, there are also periods of non-heating. »
Although, in addition to green the network, biomass helps cushion price fluctuations in the energy market. According to the city, for example, the occupants of a 70 m2 home made a saving of 195 euros on their bill in 2023. And it should be 274 euros this year.
