Jean Graniou Nice involved in developing an innovative solution to use geothermal energy for heating, air conditioning and cooling

The Nice Côte d’Azur regional council (France) is developing a new smart network to heat and cool the Meridia district of Nice using geothermal energy.

Powered by a cogeneration power plant, the future network is design to meet the heating needs of the Nice Meridia development zone. 

The plant will form the central generation hub of the network, optimising the consumption and storage of all energies in the future eco-district. The solution will harness near surface geothermal energy produced by the alluvial fan reservoir in the Var region of southern France. 

Basically, it will make it possible to pro-actively manage the energy consumption, generation and performance of heating, cooling and electric energy networks.

 Jean Graniou Nice was assigned to work on the project to conduct the strong/low current work in the power plant (a two-storey building with a rooftop terrace) and several substations.

The project includes in particular:           

  • Medium voltage work including three 1250 KVA transformers;
  • An LVDE with an IS331 service index worth €150k;
  • Specific power supply for the 3×2000 amp heat pumps;
  • The deployment of a fibre optic network connecting the plant to the various substations;
  • A BMS that makes it possible to control the entire process to preheat and cool the water network as needed.

By implementing this complex “Geo-intelligence” project, the regional council can reduce its CO2 emissions by several tens of thousands of tons, and reduce costs for residents as well.