Savoie is located in Rhône-Alpes, one of France’s leading regions for solar energy use, and it is also home to some of the leading players in the solar energy sector. Savoie Technolac Science and Technology Park and its partners are committed to building on these existing strengths to make Savoie a European leader and reference in solar thermal and photovoltaic energy sector.

The inauguration in 2006 of the National Institute for Solar Energy (INES) on the park is an example of this commitment. The INES was the brainchild of local stakeholders, designed as a collaborative centre of excellence in solar energy technologies. It brings together under one roof the leading French institutions in the field, including the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME), the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), the France’s National Scientific Research Centre (CNRS), the French Research and Evaluation Centre for the Building Sector (CSTB) and the University of Savoie.

The INES is currently home to more than 100 staff in 3 divisions: R&D, Training and Outreach, and Demonstration. In 2009, the staff of the Institute will expand to more than 250 researchers and technology trainers. To accommodate them, the Institute will be housed in new purpose-built buildings, which are currently under construction.

The Savoie solar energy cluster already has a strong and innovative business base, and a number of local companies and industry-related organisations contribute to its development. Some examples include:

- Cervin Innovations: sale and installation of PV and thermal solar equipment		- ETEC 73: renewable energy engineering
- CLIPSOL: design and manufacture of solar heating systems		- IBC Solar: design and production of PV power plants
- Les Compagnons du Solaire: a not-for-profit training centre for solar energy sector professionals		- NOVASIC: silicon carbide polishing
- CYTHELIA: solar energy conversion and storage techniques consultancy		- : renewable energy engineering
- ECO’Alternative: installation of solar and geothermal heating equipment		- PHOTOSIL: a collaborative industry-research initiative for the manufacturing of solar- grade silicon with the participation of Ferropem, Apollon Solar, the CNRS and the CEA
- ENER’BAT: renewable energy engineering		- Wattelse: solar thermal, biomass and geothermal engineering

Other organizations involved with and supporting Savoie’s solar cluster:

The Design Optimisation and Environment Engineering Laboratory – LOCIE, of the University of Savoie (30 researchers)

The Laboratory for Organic Materials with Specific Properties – LMOPS, of the University of Savoie (30 researchers)

The Hydraulic Engineering Centre (300 engineers) of Electricité de France (EDF), the French national electricity generation and distribution company.

The National Institute for Solar Energy (INES), located on Savoie Technolac, constitutes the solar energy technologies component of the nationally-accredited TENERRDIS competitiveness cluster (Pôle de Compétitivité) specializing in new and renewable energies. Savoie Technolac Science and Technology Park can therefore offer access to a national network of government, public R&D and industrial resources in this field.

The Solar Energy Market in France

The market context for solar energy in France is characterised by constantly rising levels of overall energy demand (1.3% annually to 2010 and 1% annually from 2010 to 2020 ), and at the same time new imperatives to meet this demand in a more sustainable way.

Currently, France’s main energy source is nuclear power (78.1%), followed by fossil fuels (9.8%) with only relatively low levels of renewables 12.1% (of which 11.1% is hydro-electric) .

Despite the dominance of nuclear power there is clear room for the expansion of renewable energies. The expansion of renewable energies, and in particular of solar energy, is in fact now certain due to energy market liberalisation (ending monopoly of national energy utilities in place since 1946, principle of customer choice) and fast-changing market contexts (new suppliers, new sales strategies based on ‘green energy’).

The liberalisation of the energy sector in France is linked to the European Community’s strategy of increasing competition in this sector. The relevant European legislation (the 1996 and 2003 EC Directives) has been fully effective since July 2007 in respect of energy production and commercialisation activities. In regard of distribution and transport networks, these activities remain the prerogative of France’s national energy operators, meaning that energy producers, wherever they are located, can sell their energy directly to customers anywhere in France. Consequently, several new energy production companies with a strong emphasis on renewable energies have emerged in France since 2007 (for example: Enercoop, Planète UI, Direct Energy ) giving consumers a greater choice of supplier, although the existing suppliers such as Gaz de France remain dominant and are also adopting green energy strategies. It is probable that customer demand for green energy will increase as a result, necessitating, at the same time, an expansion of productive capacity (supply chain and supporting industries).

Demand is also set to increase for renewables such as solar energy because EU and national energy production goals aim to significantly and rapidly increase their use in order to reduce carbon (CO2) emissions. At a European level legislation (Directive EC 2001/77) fixes a goal for 21% by 2010, although proposals by the French government go even further. A recent plan under the strategy devised by the ‘Grenelle (‘national debate’) for the Environment’ in the autumn of 2007 has proposed to increase the share of renewables to 25% . One way this goal is to be achieved is through a massive refurbishment programme for the energy systems in existing buildings, and ambitious energy efficiency targets for new buildings.

To stimulate consumer demand the French government is increasing the incentives it already provides for the take-up of renewable energy through, for example, offering tax credits to homeowners to install more efficient energy systems. It is therefore now certain that as nearly half of all energy use by building the construction industry will become a key vector for the take-up of solar and other renewable energy sources in France over the coming 10-20 years. The new National Solar Energy Institute located on Savoie Technolac Science and Technology Park is set to play a major role in this new programme.