Work on this geothermal heating project started back in 2020. It was initiated by the Joint Union of Heating Networks (SMIREC) with Plaine Commune Energie, a subsidiary of ENGIE Solutions, and the Olympic Works Delivery Company (SOLIDEO). Drilling of 11 boreholes including 3 producing wells and 8 reinjection wells was completed in 2021.
The inauguration ceremony was held on 22 December 2023. In attendance were Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister of Energy Transition of France, SMIREC President, Laurent Monnet, Mayor of the City of Saint-Denis Mathieu Hanotin, Executive General Director of SOLIDEO Nicolas Ferrand, Deputy General Director of ENGIE Solutions France Frank Lacroix, and Vice-President of the Île-de-France Region Yann Wehlring.
The SMIREC heating network in the Pleyel district is the first heating network in Seine-Saint-Denis and currently supplies approximately 61,500 housing equivalents in the municipalities of Saint-Denis, Île-Saint-Denis, Stains, Pierrefite-sur-Seine, and Aubervilliers. In 2022, more than 6o% of the energy needs of the territory came from biomass.
Among the facilities now being supplied by geothermal heating and cooling are the Pleyel Tower, the Pleyel Light, and the Athletes’ Village for the 2024 Olympics. Emissions reduction from the use of geothermal energy is equivalent to about 4747 tonnes of CO2 per year. A total investment of EUR 29 million went into the project, with EUR 5.8 million subsidized by ADEME Île-de-France, SOLIDEO, and the Île-de-France Region.
