Paris to expand Europe's largest water cooling system
STORY: Paris plans to expand their its urban cooling system
as it aims to meet rising demand for air conditioning, while curbing carbon emissions
Europe's largest cooling network draws water from the Seine river to serve sites across the city
including buildings that will be used for the Paris 2024 Games
(Raphaelle Nayral / Secretary General, Fraicheur de Paris)
"This is where the water from the Seine is pumped in. Here you have two identical levels which are equipped with cooling-making machines that cool down a water circuit. Then this is the pump sector, their purpose is to pump water either inside the network or within the power station. And this is the level where we find Seine water, this is where the interface between Seine water and water happens, that has been heated during the process of creating cool. After, the Seine water goes back, so it stays in the plant only for a few seconds before returning to the river."
The plans would develop the system in southern parts of the city
and extend it to hospitals, day care centers and retirement homes
Paris hopes to triple the network to about 155 miles by 2042
"If we manage to develop such a network of urban cooling instead of stand-alone air-conditioning, we could really manage to control the level of air-conditioning carbon emissions in Paris. Emissions related to producing cool in the world are going to rise anyhow, if we choose collective solutions that are resilient and efficient, the cool balance will keep growing slightly because demand will increase, but it will be very restrained compared to a situation where everyone has its own equipment and every man for himself.''
