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Mission for Energy Transition: Of course, we cannot force restraint but each
individual can be committed to it. It is not
“We must strive to be abstemious” enough to provide solutions, everyone must
seize them. We can see that whilst devices
are more and more energy-efficient, the energy
Interview by Milena Radoman
consumption curve goes down very slowly as
Annabelle Jaeger-Seydoux, who heads up the Mission for Energy people accumulate machines and adopt new
uses. Everyone must question themselves every
Transition (MTE), calls for «electrical energy to be consumed day about the consequences of their actions.
intelligently and efficiently.» We must strive to be abstemious and put an
end to single use. Recycling and the circular
Is your roadmap to achieve carbon neutrality recover energy. This mapping was matched with economy are necessary solutions to one day
by 2050 and -55% of greenhouse gas (GHG) the location of our buildings and, as a result, we live without waste.
emissions by 2030? are in talks with two residential management
This is the goal to be achieved. Our roadmap is to syndicates to test the device on two buildings. The Covid-19 crisis has allowed us to dream
tackle each of the sources of GHG emissions in of a post-Coronavirus world and, at the height
the Principality. It is an ambitious but necessary What is the current energy mix within the of lockdown, it raised public awareness. Is
goal. You have to go faster and harder to reduce Principality and the target for 2050? Plan B economic degrowth?
every source of emissions. For example, building The Principality imports most of the energy it Plan B could be to ban everything, which
and construction emissions are half due to fuel, consumes: fuel oil, natural gas and electricity. would be terrible. This is not the choice of the
half to natural gas. There will be no more fuel Although the use of solar panels has grown more Principality, which is pursuing an incentive policy.
in 2022 and our solution is to deploy thalasso- than fourfold in two years, with almost 10,000 m² It is still possible to be extraordinarily creative
thermal loops at La Condamine and Larvotto. to date, solar electricity production represents and to do things differently across all areas
There will certainly be a few months of delay less than 5% of electricity consumption. To (mobility, waste, energy). The 1,000 solutions
and exemptions will be granted provided that heat and cool buildings, Monégasque thalasso- of Bertrand Piccard prove it once again. Some
residences agree to connect to the loop as soon thermal know-how has been developed since would be perfectly suited to our challenges (for
as they are able to become part of the project. the 1960s: seawater heat pumps provide energy saving in buildings, sustainable mobility
considerable renewable energy and there are or yachting etc). We are constantly on the
Is the next step to ban gas? now thalasso-thermal networks in Fontvieille, lookout for innovation, of which there is plenty
Gas remains a fossil fuel and despite GHG la Condamine and Larvotto; plus at most of the amongst the population, and which represents
emissions decreasing by 30% when we replace Société des Bains de Mer hotels and there are new opportunities for economic growth.
fuel oil with gas, this will indeed be our next dozens of private heat pumps that optimise
project. It is possible to replace natural gas our electricity consumption with a very good Is the energy transition compatible with the
with biogas heat pumps, if available, but also to level of comfort. preservation of resources? This is the theme
develop the contribution of renewable energies. of the debate organised by the MTE with
In addition to thalassothermy and solar energy, Are we in an all-electric era? journalist, Guillaume Pitron. What is your view?
we are studying other possibilities. Studies are Yes, the digital transition is electric. Our heat People have told me that I was shooting
also currently being carried out on the potential pump technologies, which are highly efficient, myself in the foot by organising such a debate
of geothermal energy in the Principality. The use electrical energy to operate, as do our and that Guillaume Pitron would highlight the
Engelin, the Odéon Tower and the Petite Afrique mobility solutions; but our priority is to consume negative impacts of the solutions we adopted.
are already using this solution at a shallow depth. this energy intelligently and efficiently. Some indeed use his words to defend the
Deep geothermal energy is complex in an urban “previous” world of fossil fuels. However, we
environment, involving drilling several hundred How can we be more abstemious in energy share Guillaume Pitron’s view that we must
metres down – and the Alsace, which was far consumption? resolutely turn our backs on fossil fuels and
ahead in the field, is now facing earthquakes. We We have the tools to achieve this temperance a carbon economy. We are looking on, almost
are also exploring the reuse of waste water. This - for example, smart stations to charge electric powerlessly, as the so-called Sixth Mass
system is based on heat pumps connected to cars by managing peak times. We need to be able Extinction takes place. Air pollution kills more
waste water for heat recovery and free cooling. to multiply our energies. We also equip the most people every year than tobacco. We spew 51
This is a very mature technology: an eco-district energy-intensive buildings with smart metres billion tonnes of C02 into the atmosphere every
works this way in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin and (Smart +), allowing a perfect assessment of year. In 2050, our collective project is to spew
it is developing. We have mapped this potential consumption, so that we can manage them as out zero! The challenge is immense: it is a unique
in the Principality. A design office measured the well as possible and reduce the energy bill (8% opportunity to give meaning to progress and it
potential across the entire sewerage network to to 10% on average of the electricity consumption is a challenge in terms of creativity.
identify from where it would be appropriate to of common areas thanks to simple settings). Guillaume Pitron is a whistle-blower. He tells us

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