France

Telephone: 04 37 48 22 42

Fax: 04 37 48 04 57

Email: federation.flame@laposte.net

Website: http://www.federation-flame.org/europe.htm

FLAME is a consortium of fourteen French energy agencies. All were established in 1994 under the SAVE II Framework with funding from the European Commission, local authorities and the ADEME.

In 1998, the local energy management agencies decided to set up an informal national network with the objective of:
- Exchanging experiences on energy topics in order to improve their own local action;
- Promotinge skills and knowledge at national and European levels;
- Facilitating the birth of new local agencies.

In January 2004, the agencies decided to create a formal non-lucrative association in order to develop new national and European partnerships (throughout reflection groups set up by the European Commission). FLAME was founded on april 21, 2004.

Each of the agencies' has a similar role in assisting cities and energy users in taking action to promote energy efficiency and renewables, as well as local sustainable energy policies.

Additional roles are as:
- A proximity tool to inform consumers on energy topics;
- providing technical expertise to help consumers make relevant energy choices;
- facilitating the exchange of experiences in energy efficiency actions between energy actors and decision makers;
- a dissemination tool for local, national and European energy policies

The main areas of expertise are:
- Energy efficiency and rational use of energy;
- Renewable energy sources: solar heating, photovoltaic, biomass, wind turbines, etc.
- Rational use of water;
- Air quality and global warming

In Eco n'Home, FLAME will lead in the management of the experimentation stage.