Funding for Energy Audits

At the beginning of 1999, the government opened the Fonds Régionaux aux Conseils (FRAC) to perform energy audits for small and large industry and to advise them on investments to improve energy efficiency. The Energy Efficiency and Environment Agency (ADEME) also put in place a complementary measure to advise those enterprises not eligible for FRAC.

 

Previously, mandatory energy audits, carried out by experts appointed by the Ministry of Industry, were required every three years from 1977 to 1997 for industrial facilities consuming more than 300 toe per year (20 000 sites in France). The degree of compliance in 1994 was only 40%, partly due to inadequate resources. Energy savings identified are about 3% of energy consumption with an average return of investment of four to five years. The regulation was changed in September 1998 and these mandatory audits are no longer required.