Self-sufficiency on the programme at the first Ark’innoves event

The theme of self-sufficiency through self-production of solar energy attracted around 30 key players in sustainable construction to the first Ark’innoves conference organised by the Arkinova Business Generator.

Arkinova, a Basque Coast Technology Park site, is dedicated to Sustainable Construction and aims to support and unite the sector’s key players in training, research and business through creating collaborations which stimulate entrepreneurship and collaborative innovation.

Ark’innoves events are intended to meet the needs of this ecosystem through support and stimulation. In the form of a short presentation, and with the help of specialists and entrepreneurs who are references in the field, the Arkinova Business Generator will explain a specific challenge of sustainable construction.

After the speakers’ presentations, discussions will continue in a relaxed atmosphere with the aim of uniting our community and leading to the creation of collaborative innovation projects.

Self-sufficiency in electricity – mainly solar – is expanding for economic and legal reasons which have become more favourable in recent times. We are therefore seeing more and more installations in France which consume energy produced solely through selling their surplus production to the national grid.

Renewable and solar

The objective of this first Ark’innoves conference on Wednesday 28th June at the Arkinova Business Generator was to discover the regulatory, technological and financial opportunities available for developing self-sufficiency in electricity in buildings – mainly in the service sector – by using renewable energies, namely solar.

Experts from the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME), alongside the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region put forward regulatory frameworks for self-sufficiency which included future regulations governing collective self-sufficiency which applies to multi-unit residential buildings. Support measures and proposals from ADEME and the Region were also presented.

Business representatives including innovative SMEs and national groups presented their projects and achievements using a marketing approach, defining new economic models created by the expansion of the self-sufficiency market. An expert from the Nobatek – INEF4 Resource Centre, situated in the Arkinova Technology Park, shared their research on tools for energy management of buildings and neighbourhoods carried out in the context of the HIT2GAP and DR-BOB projects.

The different angles and approaches on the subject of energy self-sufficiency have offered a truly educational overall view on the matter. Exchanges between speakers and participants (the entrepreneurs for the most part) were common throughout the conference, but also occurred during the more relaxed moments which brought the first edition of Ark’innoves events to a close.