Transition: in Angers, AI is hunting energy waste
Come rain or shine, the workers at Equans struggle to keep to the schedule. They still have two years to change 30,000 lampposts in the Angers conurbation: masts, bulbs, lanterns and even cables if necessary. Works throughout the city, which make passers-by grumble… “But it’s for a good cause”, corrects this resident. “Thanks to this transformation, argues Jean-Marc Verchère, the mayor of Angers, each light point only consumes 15 to 30 watts instead of 150.”
This project is part of the largest “smart city” project in France, launched by Christophe Béchu, his predecessor as mayor of the Maine-et-Loire prefecture, appointed Minister for Ecological Transition. The contract worth 178 million euros over twelve years was signed at the end of 2019 with four French companies: Equans, a specialist in multi-technical services (ex-subsidiary of Engie acquired by Bouygues), Suez for waste, water and sanitation, La Poste for data, and Vyv mutuals to create new services. The objective: to acquire measuring instruments to better manage the public action of the community – “building permits, consumption of water, electricity, traffic…” mentions the mayor – particularly from a perspective environmental.
Operational end of 2023
Remote control of energy consumption is at the heart of the reactor. 56 million euros are thus intended for the renovation of the 30,000 streetlights, of which the city hopes to save 66% by 2025; 400 soil moisture detection probes rationalize watering with, as a result, 30% less water consumption; 3,500 sensors placed in all public buildings, i.e. 1 million square meters, will allow the control center, the “hypervisor”, to manage all their fluids, from heating to air conditioning and light depending on the room occupancy, to lower the score by 20%.
“The Hypervisor”. This control center makes it possible to manage all the fluids, from heating to air conditioning, including lighting, depending on the occupancy of the rooms, to lower the score by 20%. (Bruno Levy for Challenges)
Analysis of automatic lawn irrigation. 400 probes detecting soil humidity should reduce water consumption by 30%. (Bruno Levy for Challenges)
The idea is to avoid energy waste thanks to artificial intelligence, which will be fully operational at the end of 2023: in total, the agglomeration expects just over 100 million euros in savings over twenty-five year. A welcome effort at sobriety in the context of skyrocketing gas and electricity prices. “Angers’ energy budget stood at 6.5 million euros last year. Despite our efforts, it will increase to 9 million this year. And we are reluctant to budget between 10 and 15 million in 2023”, explains Jean-Marc Verchère.
120 million per year of investment
Still, the project did not go without a bit of challenge. Such an amount, for a metropolis of 300,000 inhabitants, which devotes an average of 120 million per year to all of its investments, couldn’t it be put to better use? Especially since the agglomeration has also had to pay, over three years, 200 million for two new tram lines which are due to open in July 2023, an investment participating in the more consensual climate transition. At the time of the signing of the “intelligent territory” contract, no elected environmentalist sat on the agglomeration council. “I would have voted against, assures Yves Aurégan, elected in 2020 under the EELV label. If the LED bulbs are not debated, I am more skeptical about the “big brother” side of the project. it was more a question of showing Angers as a technological city than at the ecological avant-garde…”
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A fondness of Béchu. Didn’t the city inaugurate its Connected Object City in 2015, drawing on its electronic industrial heritage? The following year, she even receives two visits from Gary Shapiro, the boss of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) which is held every year in Las Vegas. In 2018, it was during a visit to CES that the ex-mayor clicked. “In the Caesar Palace lobby, after a phone call to the director of services, he says to me: ‘Let’s go for the smart city’!”, recalls Constance Nebbula, his digital assistant who pleaded for the cause.
No to storage at Amazon
A year of work and a tour of the 29 municipalities of the agglomeration were necessary to refine the project and gain support. It is Angers Métropole that pays and makes the tool available to other communities. Data storage was refused to Amazon, in favor of La Poste. Monitoring of Sarthe and Loire floods has been added to the specifications. On November 12, 2019, the project was approved by a unanimous vote by the Agglomeration Council of 93 votes, less one abstention. The only discordant voice, the communist Alain Pagano is still not convinced: “This summer, in the middle of a drought, the lawns were watered under the dodger…” In “smart city”, intelligence obviously still needs adjustment to put itself in the service of ecology.
Numbers
178 million euros invested over 12 years in the “intelligent management” project for the Angers conurbation.
100 million euros in savings expected over the next 25 years on energy expenditure.
