Addressing the challenges of the energy transition and mobilizing the region’s key stakeholders

The CITRE association (Citizens for Energy Transition and Conversion) was founded in July 2015, after several months of deliberation, to address the challenges of the energy transition and mobilize the active members of the Uzège region around local cooperative projects aimed at reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and polluting energy sources.

The association gave rise to the CITRE Citizens’ Cooperative in 2017, which has become an operational tool for implementing the energy transition and conversion in the Uzège-Pont du Gard region.

“Producing renewable energy together is possible”—and it’s a reality in our region: proof of this are our six solar power installations, funded with the support of many residents of Uzège-Pont du Gard, local governments, businesses, and organizations.*

TESTIMONIAL

The completion of the first solar power installation in 2017—carried out by CITRE, the cooperative, on the roof of the Sanilhac school—was the result of shared and aligned efforts.

It all started with the citizens…

First, there was the determination of a group of citizens who decided to support the energy transition in the Uzège-Pont du Gard region (and beyond) by applying the principles of the NégaWatt scenario:

• reducing energy consumption—which is fundamental, since the cleanest energy is the energy we don’t consume! And to that end, informing, educating, and training both adults and children about energy conservation and energy efficiency,
• and to actually produce locally sourced renewable energy that will meet our needs

BENEFITS

The completion of the Sanilhac school project has allowed us to promote a win-win model:

• CITRE—the cooperative—generates clean energy for resale to Enedis (under a 20-year contract),
• As a partner, the Sanilhac-Sagriès City Hall provides the school’s roof and benefits from 3 kWp of self-consumed electricity (thereby reducing its electricity bill),
• Citizens lend money at an attractive interest rate, giving their savings a purpose while contributing to the cooperative’s operations and direction,
• Local businesses work for the cooperative, fostering a dynamic of relationships and collaboration in an innovative sector,
• The schoolchildren can track daily energy production, and the solar array can be used for educational purposes,
• The local environment is preserved because, by prioritizing solar panels on municipal rooftops, we do not encroach on the natural scrubland habitats,

OTHER PROJECTS

• Garrigues-Sainte-Eulalie: solar shade structure at the community center
• Sainte-Anastasie: solar roof on the Maison du Grand Site du Gardon
• Collias: solar roof at the school
• Théziers: 67 kWp on the CCPG’s community workshops
• Dions: Solar Roof at the School
• Fournès: self-consumption solar system
• Sanilhac: participatory housing cooperative