Socio-environmental programme in Sierra Brava

• We disseminate renewables among schoolchildren in the hinterland of the Sierra Brava floating photovoltaic plant (Cáceres province, Spain)

• Eight virtual chats have been organised in primary and secondary schools in the area, sharing educational materials to disseminate knowledge about renewables and the need to innovate in this field.

ACCIONA Energía has implemented a socio-environmental programme to disseminate renewable energies and scientific-technological innovation for schoolchildren in localities near the Sierra Brava floating photovoltaic plant in Cáceres province. It is the first grid-connected plant of its type in Spain, and has been in service since 2020.

The programme is part of the Social Impact Management plan for the plant and has been developed in cooperation with ECODES (Ecology and Development Foundation).

Eight chats have been held so far in four primary and secondary schools in the hinterland of the plant, in the localities of Zorita, Logrosán, Trujillo and Orellana la Vieja. A total of 184 students −38 from 5^th and 6^th Primary and 146 from 2^nd and 3^rd Secondary− have taken part in these virtual chats, which have focused on climate change, energy efficiency, different types of renewable energies and innovative examples of each one, as well as the main challenges faced by them.

Furthermore, educational material on renewable energies has been shared with teachers so that they can improve their knowledge of the themes discussed in the chats and reach more students in future editions. The material consists of fact sheets with information on renewable energies and recreational activities such as word games related to renewables.

In the second phase of the project some of the schools that have followed the chats will take part in a competition involving projects on renewable energies, with the opportunity of visiting the floating photovoltaic plant in early 2022.

Chats will also be organised with 18 Red Cross groups in Extremadura, with the aim of extending this knowledge to another 150 schoolchildren in the hinterland of the Sierra Brava plant.

The project sets out to create awareness among young people about the importance of renewable energies and innovation, bringing this information to a group that makes up the future of our society and arousing young people’s interest in these things from a very early age.