Four out of five people in Africa use wood for cooking: a transition to clean fuels would cut emissions and save lives, a model for Nigeria shows. María Yetano Roche and Temilade Sesan share insights from their recent publication.
A Community Energy Centre And Eco Sustainability Park In Independencia, Chile
The Municipality of Independencia, Chile, seeks to establish a Community Energy Centre in an Eco Sustainability Park in the city. This centre will provide an educational space for renewable energy for all local communities within the municipality and for other interested parties.
Independencia has a population of 800,000 living in an area of 7 km². A variety of initiatives are already in place to demonstrate renewable energy possibilities in the area; examples include the construction of solar kitchens and the installation of a hundred solar cookers.
It is envisaged that the Eco Sustainability Park will not only include the construction of the Community Energy Centre, but also a nursery school and a recycling centre. More than 10,000 inhabitants in the densely-populated local neighbourhood, primarily working-class, are expected to benefit from the services offered.
Recently, our local project partner (the Municipality of Independencia) carried out the following activities:
- The definition of a detailed baseline survey on criteria, including local energy consumption, waste generation, commercial activities and population development.
- The design of an innovative “Compact2” biodigester to be installed at the project site; once the system is up and running, training sessions on operation, maintenance and monitoring will be delivered.
- The calculation and quantification of environmental and economic benefits of the biodigester at the Community Energy Centre.
The project team has also presented their project at three “Climate Change Academies” in the Los Lagos, Antofagasta and Valparaíso regions. Read more about this here (Spanish only).
Next project steps include the installation of the biogas system and training sessions for future users and the local community, as well as the design and delivery of educational materials to be used at schools and universities.
Find more general information on our SEPS project page: Community Energy Center and Eco Sustainability Park in the Municipality of Independencia