FONDECYT, National Fund of Scientific & Technological Development and Technological Innovation of Peru, has awarded ACCIONA Microenergia Peru a grant to develop an electricity delivery model, adapted to the Peruvian Amazonia, and deploy a pilot project in at least 50 homes.
In Peru, the rain forest area covers the 60% of the territory along 11 departments, where more than 400,000 people live without access to conventional electricity service. In this area the access to electrification is unfeasible through power lines, so many households burn fossil fuel (which is subsidized) to generate electricity for some hours per day, as well as they use disposable batteries for lanterns, radios, etc. that damage the environment.
Before this problem, ACCIONA Microenergia Peru presented to the FONDECYT’s call ‘IDEAS AUDACES 2015’ a proposal to give a sustainable, modular and environmentally-friendly solution. This consists of developing an innovative electricity delivery model which is based on the user participation, the shared responsibility and the multi-stakeholder partnerships, which is adapted to difficult and very complex environments, and which will apply the most advanced technologies.
The expected outcome of this project, which FONDECYT has given the maximum possible grant for this call, is to obtain an assessment of both the acceptance of the proposed model and the viability of the equipment, as well as implant it in at least 50 homes in different Amazon communities. The offered electricity service is intended that, on the one hand, favours the Development of those people and, on the other hand, be harmless of this special environment by avoiding CO2 pollution, non-controlled disposal of pollutant batteries and the deforestation.
In short, it is aspired an off-grid electricity delivery model, adapted to the Peruvian Amazonia and successful as the one implemented in the Northern Mountains of Peru. Jessica Olivares, director of the ‘Luz en Casa’ programme in Cajamarca, explains the project that now starts in this video (in Spanish).
ACCIONA Microenergia and the Sustainable Development Goals
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) are included in the 2030 Agenda, a 15-year plan of action that favours the people, the planet and the prosperity. There are 17 SDG which are integrated and indivisible and that comprise the three dimensions of the Development: economic, social and environmental.
The rural electrification programmes of the ACCIONA Microenergia foundation impact on those three dimensions, and directly on the SDG 7, Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. Economically, there is saving on energy elements due to pay a fee for available electricity that is lower to the former expenditure on fuel, candles, batteries…; socially, the work day is extended with the additional lighting hours and health risks are avoided and; environmentally, the use of photovoltaics avoid CO2 emissions and disposal of pollutant batteries (due to not use).
The impacts of this new project are expected to be proportional to ‘Luz en Casa’ in Cajamarca, where the users save 39% on energy elements monthly, extend their daily tasks to study or work for at least 42 minutes in average and avoid smoke and fire provoked by candles and fuel lamps, as well as the 3,910 operating installations avoid 1,554 t/year CO2.
ACCIONA Microenergía Peru
It is a non-profit association that was created by the ACCIONA Microenergia foundation to facilitate access to electricity to isolated rural communities, which are not included in the national grid extension of Peru. It develops the ‘Luz en Casa’ programme in the Northern Mountains of Peru, in the department of Cajamarca, where it is an electricity public utility within the Peruvian regulation, and with a fee-for-service model that applies the official photovoltaic tariff.