PARIS (AP) – The Mona Lisa can keep its famous enigmatic smile because it benefits from one of Paris’ best-kept secrets: an underground cooling system that has helped the Louvre cope with record-breaking sweltering heat of temperature throughout Europe.
The little-known “urban cold” network snakes unsuspectingly beneath Parisians’ feet at a depth of up to 30 meters (98 feet), pumping icy water through 89 kilometers (55 miles) of labyrinthine pipes, which are used to cool the air. in more than 700 places. The system, which uses electricity generated by renewable sources, is the largest in Europe, and operates throughout the day with a deafening noise that is completely inaudible above ground.
Paris City Council has now signed an ambitious contract to triple the size of the network by 2042 to 252 kilometers (157 miles). It would make it the largest urban cooling system in the world. The new contract aims to help the city adapt and combat the threat of global warming. Many parts of Europe reached 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in July.
The city is expanding the cooling network to hospitals, schools and subway stations over the next two decades. It is not clear how much of the system will be operational by the time of the 2024 Paris Olympics, but it is possible that the systems will be used at several Olympic venues.
Unknown to millions of tourists, the pipes currently cool the most emblematic places in the City of Light, such as the Louvre and the Quai Branly Museum. It could even help cool the tempers of agitated lawmakers as it is used to lower temperatures in the National Assembly.
The scheme is managed by the Fraicheur de Paris joint venture — 85% owned by French state energy company EDF and the rest by public transport operator RATP. The managers of the company promote their benefits for the entire French capital.
“If all (Parisian) buildings are equipped with autonomous installations (such as air conditioning), a very important urban ‘heat island’ effect will gradually be created,” said Maggie Schelfhaut of Fraicheur de Paris, referring -se to the increase in heat in the cities. due to less vegetation, which cools, and more urban infrastructure, which absorbs the sun’s rays.
But Schelfhaut said the network of pipes could make all of Paris one degree Celsius (1.8 Fahrenheit) cooler than if stand-alone installations were put up throughout the city.
“One degree less downtown is a lot,” he added.
Three of the 10 high-tech cooling sites are located on the River Seine and are accessed by a retractable spiral staircase barely visible from street level, in something resembling a “Ninja Turtles” lair Teenage Mutant”.
When the Seine water is cold enough, a machine captures it and uses it to cool the water in the system. The heat created as a by-product is sent back to the Seine where it is absorbed. Chilled water is pumped through the system’s pipes to its 730 Parisian customers.
Paris’ cooling facilities use renewable energy sources such as wind turbines and solar panels. The construction of four new solar energy sites that will feed this network is also planned. French officials see this energy independence as particularly important given the threat of Russia cutting off energy supplies to Europe.
Russian energy corporation Gazprom on Wednesday reduced the amount of natural gas flowing through a major pipeline from Russia to Europe to 20% of its capacity. European nations are scrambling to find alternatives amid fears that Russia could completely cut off gas exports, which are used for industry, to generate electricity and to cool homes, in a bid to gain political influence over the bloc.
The benefits of using a cooling system that uses renewable energy to operate are already being felt by places that use them. The world’s most visited museum, the Louvre, has benefited from the network since the 1990s, with officials proud of its ecological, economic and art conservation benefits.
“It allows us to benefit from energy with a lower carbon footprint available all year round,” said Laurent Le Guedart, director of the Louvre’s heritage. “The peculiarity of the Louvre Museum is that it needs to use ice water to properly preserve the work of art and control the humidity.”
The Louvre does not use air conditioning, and officials say the cooling also buys them much-needed space in the sprawling but small former palace, which houses 550,000 works of art.
Le Guedart said the system is a money saver given the rising cost of energy linked to the Ukraine conflict. It works mainly in the State Room of the Denon Pavilion where the Mona Lisa lives. Maybe that’s why there have never been drops of sweat from the forehead painted by Leonardo da Vinci.
“The Louvre’s energy bill is around 10 million euros per year in 2021. We are trying to control this bill as much as possible, amid the obvious fluctuations and increases in energy costs,” Le Guedart said.
The system could save millions by cushioning the shock as Russia continues to roil the energy market.
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Jade Le Deley in Paris contributed.
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