Preface. Below is the announcement of the French Energy Sobriety Plan by Prime Minister Borne. The energy crisis is coming to all nations, and we should all be implementing their action plan (and family planning, birth control, abortion, limited immigration).
It’s hard for me to imagine a U.S. politician delivering this speech, though it will have to happen when fracked oil declines at 80% a year within 5-10 years. Though if fascist republicans are in power, they are more likely to “ration” by price, blame the Middle east, and start a war. Or blame Democrats and start a civil war. If that sounds extreme, please read some of the books here. Democrats are more likely to give a similar speech, very reluctantly, since Jimmy Carter wasn’t re-elected partly due to a similar one, known as his “malaise” speech (here).
After the speech I summarize the 50 pages of the French energy sobriety plan. What a great title. A good one for Richard Heinberg if he writes a sequel to “The Party’s Over”.
Alice Friedemann www.energyskeptic.com Author of Life After Fossil Fuels: A Reality Check on Alternative Energy; When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation”, Barriers to Making Algal Biofuels, & “Crunch! Whole Grain Artisan Chips and Crackers”. Women in ecology Podcasts: WGBH, Jore, Planet: Critical, Crazy Town, Collapse Chronicles, Derrick Jensen, Practical Prepping, Kunstler 253 &278, Peak Prosperity, Index of best energyskeptic posts
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French energy sobriety announcement by Mrs Élisabeth Borne, French Prime Minister, on the goal of reducing energy consumption by 10% in two years on October 6, 2022.
Seven months ago, by brutally attacking Ukraine, Russia changed the world order. The strategic upheavals are superimposed by an energy crisis. Russia has chosen to blackmail its gas, provoking, in Europe, the risk of a shortage for this winter and a surge in energy prices. Faced with this, some are proposing to submit to Russia, accept its terms and abandon Ukraine. To listen to them would be to turn your back on a member of the European family and deny our values. It’s not an option. We will continue to support Ukraine. Continue to pressure Russia. Take action and give us the means to get through this winter in the best conditions.
Added to this tension on gas is the shutdown for maintenance of a large part of our nuclear fleet, which limits our electricity production.
But thanks to European solidarity and sobriety, we can spend the coming months avoiding power cuts. We plan to increase our gas stocks by diversifying our supplies; – and by increasing the capacities of our LNG terminals.
Sobriety. Until recently, few of us were familiar with this concept. But with the war, with the urgency of the energy transition, then the appeal of the President of the Republic, sobriety imposed itself as a necessity.
Energy sobriety does not mean producing less and opting for reduction. It means avoiding unnecessary consumption and not all consuming at the same time. These can be gestures that on a large scale, have a considerable impact. Gestures, which reduce our bills and climate footprint.
Sobriety is a collective affair. The state must lead by example. And with it, communities, companies and citizens must act together, each according to their abilities. It is general mobilization that will yield results.
Professionals in each sector are best able to identify sources of energy savings. Sobriety must come from field expertise and adapted to each sector to be well accepted and implemented. This is how we will have maximum reductions in consumption, without penalizing our economy.
Based on these principles, we have set ourselves a goal: to reduce our energy consumption by 10% over the next two years, relying on collective responsibility and not on coercion. Thanks to you, the sobriety plan presented today gives us a credible roadmap to reach our target.
We will practice the whole range of energy savings, whether it’s heating, lighting or digital, pull all the levers.
We will monitor the situation, publish the evolution of our electricity and gas consumption every week to know if we have made the necessary energy savings. In addition, we are strengthening the “EcoWatt” system, so we can all know the voltage level on the electrical system. It will be relayed in the media.
Ladies and gentlemen, if energy sobriety is an emergency response, I also believe it must be an awareness. The reduction in energy consumption must be part of the long term. It’s not a fad, the time of a winter. It’s a new way of thinking and acting. It is not a matter of principle or ideology. It is about the ecological transition. Our sovereignty is at stake. It is about our purchasing power.
Sobriety is a pillar of our ecological planning. With it, we will take good habits over time. We will accelerate the decarbonization of our industry. This is a key asset for reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
Sobriety is an essential lever to quickly get out of our dependence on fossil fuels. It will allow a controlled transition towards a carbon-free and more sovereign energy mix, around nuclear and renewable energy. We give ourselves the means to achieve this. In the coming weeks, Parliament will examine texts to accelerate the development of both. Sobriety, finally, is lasting purchasing power. By controlling our consumption, we can make savings on energy bills. Purchasing power and ecological transition must go hand in hand.
Ladies and gentlemen, Some would like to make fun of it. Today, however, sobriety has never been such a serious issue. This is one of the keys to our security of supply. It is a pledge for our sovereignty. It is an opportunity for our purchasing power. It is a foundation of the ecological transition. Sobriety is here to stay.
So we all have our part to play. Sobriety is everyone’s business. Together, we will get through this winter without cuts and we will build a more sober and low-carbon society.
Summary of the 50-page energy sobriety plan (here)
Across work, home, government, trade and industry the French created a “French sobriety plan” for conserving energy to cope without Russian gas and nuclear power, and reduce consumption by 10% with a goal of 40% by 2050. In 2021, renewable energy was 19% of total energy production in France, dominated by wood energy, hydro power and heat from heat pumps
This is a 50-page plan that looks at energy savings across government buildings, manufacturing, apartments, data centers, telecommunications, sports, cinemas, transportation and more, with repetitive recommendations across these setors, such as the maximum heating or A/C temperatures, to reduce lighting, and more. Nor did I include the many specific recommendations in a sector, such as to reduce the amount of food stored in refrigerated containers, or for ski resorts to produce the minimum snow needed and operate ski lifts more efficiently
It’s estimated to cost $785 million U.S. dollars, but there’s another $2.5 billion euros from a 2020 plan to renovate buildings, and even more money that may get allocated to wind farms and solar PV later in October of 2022. There are subsidies and tax breaks for employees who bicycle or carpool, who work from home (such as a 15% increase in salary to pay for the extra heat or A/C). Hundreds of millions of euros will go towards renovating boilers or replacing them with heat pumps, insulating water pipes, smart thermostats and motion detectors, hiring sobriety workers to go door to door of homes and business to offer advice and subsidies for improvements, and bonuses to homes and business who conserve energy. Far too many to list that are scattered through the 50 pages.
The government owns near a third of all buildings in France, including museums, government offices, and more. A task force of sobriety energy specialists and technicians will go to all state buildings to help site managers improve their energy efficiencies, check the insulation infrastructure of windows, walls, and floors, and subsidize and plan multi-year renovation projects. There will also be training of staff in how to drive efficiently to save fuel.
Everyone is encouraged to receive alerts from the EcoWatt system and website so when blackouts threaten. This worked in California when it was 116 F in the central valley and the grid on the verge of blacking out. I was at a dinner party when the alert sounded loudly on all of our phones.
Transportation is 32% of final energy consumption, so everyone is being encouraged to bicycle, there are electric bike incentives, and more bike lanes and secure bicycle parking are planned. There are carpool incentives. Elimination of unnecessary travel is encouraged – a train rather thanairplane, mass transit rather than a car. Maintain vehicles, optimize deliveries
For public employees, a maximum speed pf 110 km/h instead of 130 km/h on the highway and 100 km/h rather than 110 km/h on expressways, which saves 20% of fuel. Training and advice to be given soon on eco-driving techniques and efficiencies like moderate speeds, slower acceleration, removing roof racks, checking tire pressure, and using less air conditioning.
Business are encouraged to have staggered working hours, encourage workers to telecommute, and do more videoconferencing and remote training.
Everyone should switch to LED lights, turn lights off in unoccupied office buildings or rooms, reduce exterior building lighting – especially advertising which should be turned off from 1 am to 6 am. Stores should reduce existing lighting by 30% and carefully start and stop heating and A/C to just the hours when the public is there at the new energy-saving temperatures. Heat should be limited to 19 C in main rooms, 17 C in bedrooms. Water heaters set to 130 F. If a building will be unoccupied for 48 hours or more, the temperature reduced to 8 C. The installation of automated smart systems to turn off lights, heating, computers, and A/C when no one is around is encouraged and subsidized by the government.
No more hot water public bathrooms including toilets since the heating water is 10% of the energy used. The temperature of swimming pools should be lowered by 1 C, temperatures in gyms by 2 C.
Remove sludge deposits of mud that accumulate in the circuits of heaters and air conditioners to prevent a 17% loss of efficiency. Maintain and inspect boilers to be sure they are optimally functioning
Every company should have a sobriety ambassador that helps plan and implement reductions of energy consumption, quickly implement teleworking when the grid is overloaded, and other projects to reduce energy. The sobriety ambassador should also make sure that plans for digital sobriety are made since computer equipment can be 21% of electricity consumption and 75% during periods of inactivity. Streamline data storage within of the company and put in place mechanisms of good hygiene management of documents and emails. Adapt the cooling systems of the servers that store the data. Encourage employees to use wifi, reduce screen brightness, turn off screens not being used, shut their computer down when on a break or going home. Purchase energy efficient devices with good repair records.