The French community energy company network Centrales Villageoises was initiated in the early 2010s by the regional authority Rhône-Alpes as an operational model for local energy project development. Since then, more than 50 local joint stock companies have been created within the Centrales Villageoises network. Local public authorities and local private company representatives can be part of these initiatives through investment in company stock. The initial business model promoted by Centrales Villageoises network was based on rooftop solar and guaranteed feed-in tariffs.
However, more recently, the network set out to develop small hydroelectric plant projects, either by renovating existing equipment or by implementing new energy production plants. Although several companies of the Centrales Villageoises network have expressed interest, and two companies have initiated feasibility studies, project implementation might take some time. The future will show whether hydropower development will prove to be as easy to reproduce as rooftop solar.
Read more : « Projet Hydro-Electrique », Centrales Villageoises VercorSoleil, https://www.vercorsoleil.centralesvillageoises.fr/projet-hydro-electrique-vercorsoleil [06.12.2022].
