Alsace: The Minister for Ecological Transition visits a methanization site to promote the State's green investments

Highlighting local government investment projects supported by the State via Ademe (the French Environment and Energy Management Agency). This was the objective of the visit by Minister for Ecological Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher , who stopped off in several Bas-Rhin municipalities this Thursday afternoon. Starting with Woellenheim, at the Haut-Village farm. The 300-hectare dairy farm located about twenty kilometers from Strasbourg, in the Kochersberg hills, has been equipped, since 2016, with a "Méthachrist" methanization unit connected to a heating network. An investment of 1.2 million euros, including 700,000 euros in aid from Ademe, which has given new impetus to the dairy farm founded in the 16th century.

The biomethane produced from crop residues, livestock effluent and waste from local agri-food companies is equivalent to the consumption of 1,600 homes. "Today, there are around ten of us methanizers around Strasbourg exchanging waste, we process around 30,000 tonnes, which allows us to have 200 m3 of gas injected per hour. With partner farms, we manage to fertilize 1,000 hectares of crops without fertilizer," explained Florian Christ, manager of the farm, which employs 15 people and has a turnover of around €4 million, including €2.5 million from methanization .

For Agnès Pannier-Runacher, "this is a concrete illustration of a competent operator serving the regions, providing solutions that are good for the economy, purchasing power, and the planet. Five million French people benefit from a heating network supported by Ademe, and 1,350 installations were financed last year thanks to the heat fund," she emphasized. This was a way for the minister to reiterate the government's support for state agencies, which have been in the sights of Bercy for several months . "Financial debt does not erase ecological debt. We must invest in ecology because we can no longer depend on fossil fuels, which are dangerous for the climate. Inaction will be costly for economic activity, industry, and agriculture."

The minister then traveled to Eckbolsheim to view the geothermal network at the Katia and Maurice Krafft sports complex. The visit to the Strasbourg West heat network project, operated by a subsidiary of Engie, provided an opportunity to review the 2024 results of the "heat fund." This network aims to distribute up to 85% of the recovered heat to the Hautepierre hospital by 2030.