Technical advice on standardizing processes for creating micro-networks in rural areas in Mozambique

Technical advice on standardizing processes for creating micro-networks in rural areas in Mozambique.

According to World Bank sources, in 2020 only 30.6% Mozambique’s population had access to electricity. The great challenge facing the country is its total electrification by 2030, especially of rural areas that are far from the grid.

FUNAE is the main public body in charge of electrifying the most remote and isolated areas, mostly with the implementation of micro-grids powered by renewable energy (solar photovoltaic and hydraulic). Currently, tools are needed to build and maintain the mini grids and guarantee quality standards.

In this context, our engineer and head of international area @MarcosMorales has given training to provide process-standardization tools for designing and implementing micro-grids that will provide electricity in rural areas.

This technical assistance is provided for FUNAE as part of a project led by our colleagues @Aiguasol, which also proposes the design of a digital tool to control and monitor micro-grid data as part of the DigutalEnergy Challenge for Utilities 2022 competition.

by ivans

Training sessions on the use of medical oxygen generators continue in health centres in Chefchaouen

Training sessions on the use of medical oxygen generators continue in health centres in Chefchaouen.

In several areas of Morocco, for example in the province of Chefchauen, around 20 out of every 100 children born have some complications.

Of these 20 children, it is believed that 18 could be saved if there were more access to drugs, oxygen therapy and more medical knowledge.

The most critical factor that raises mortality in births with complications is the trip from the health centre to the hospital, during which there is no guarantee of medical oxygen and that increases the suffering of the baby and the mother.

For this reason, training has been given to 12 midwives from 5 rural health centres with the assistance of Dr. Irene Martínez de Albéniz, a paediatrician at the Sant Joan de Déu hospital and a specialist in infectious diseases. These training sessions are part of the “Training, EERR, medical oxygen and ESS project: a multisectoral approach aimed at improving public health in the province of Chefchaoen. Funded by AECID and led by Azimut360 in collaboration with the ADL AL Maghrib Association and the Chefchouen Health delegation.

In the organized sessions, topics such as nutritional aspects and infectious screening during pregnancy, basic neonatal resuscitation, problems in the recent birth and feeding and preventive activities for infants and children were dealt with.

These training courses were linked to the improvement of health centres by installing medical oxygen generators that will operate 24 hours a day thanks to the photovoltaic system that is being installed.

These days we are working with the teams from CODIBER and COANER, the local cooperatives in the province of #Chefchaouen. These cooperatives will carry out the installation work of the #plaquessolari in the 4 Health Centres in the project. The CODIBER and COANER cooperatives had already participated in previous projects with us where training was given on solar energy installations, and in this project they already act as professional service providers.

Our specialist engineers are carrying out various training courses for technicians to install the #photovoltaic system and maintain it.

If you want to know more about the status of the project, follow our international social media accounts.

by ivans

Understanding the clean energy transition in community-driven decentralised renewable energy projects in Germany and sub-Saharan Africa

Understanding the clean energy transition in community-driven decentralised renewable energy projects in Germany and sub-Saharan Africa.

Mireia Gil, engineer and project director of Azimut 360, contributed to the publication of the Alliance for Rural Electrification with the Gbreko Kanian Project Case study: Electrification of 7 rural communities with hybrid micro-grids and photovoltaic systems in the Zanzan region (Côte d’Ivoire).

The effects of climate change have accelerated and amplified in recent decades. Extreme weather, natural disasters, economic collapse, food and water insecurity are all symptoms of this crisis. Similarly, 759 million people have no access to electricity, while another 2.8 billion still suffer from unreliable electricity services. As it seems the Paris Agreement goals will not be achieved by 2030, new approaches to clean energy transition are required.

This publication explores the potential of community-driven decentralised renewable energy (DRE) projects to address the climate crisis, provide access to electricity and contribute to the socio-economic development of communities.

The publication’s case studies highlight the main benefits of community-driven human rights projects in Germany and sub-Saharan Africa, and some of the notable barriers faced by these projects.

You can read the entire publication on this link:

https://www.ruralelec.org/publications/understanding-clean-energy-transition-community-driven-dre-projects-germany-and-sub

by ivans

AZIMUT360 installs 500 kW for Gambia MRC

AZIMUT360 installs 500 kW for Gambia MRC.

AZIMUT360 presents the project developed with MBolo Association and the Medical Research Council (MRC) installing 501 kWp in Gambia. As technical partners in charge of the design, management and commissioning of the installation, Azimut360 follows the story of empowerment of 3 women who throughout the installation develop dependable technical skills.

by ivans

Inauguration of the Tanafelt solar micro-grid

Inauguration of the Tanafelt solar micro-grid.

On 12 June, in Dardara (Chefchaouen, Morocco), was held the conference to mark the start of the project “Improving the competitiveness of the Tanafelt Women’s Textile Cooperative for local economic development in Northern Morocco”. The project, developed jointly with the local counterpart ADL-Al Maghrib and co-financed by AECID, focused on consolidating two projects of Social and Solidary Economy: the Textile Cooperative of women of Tanafelt and the Cooperative of renewable energies Codiber. The latter was created in the framework of a project executed by Azimut 360 in partnership with the City of Chefchaouen.

The improvement of the competitiveness of the textile cooperative has been achieved in part through access to 24/24h quality electricity through a 4.2 kWp solar micro-grid that serves the school, the nursery and the homes of the teachers of the village. Cooperative members have attended various training courses in electrical sewing and product marketing, which has enabled them to expand their production capacity as well as their product catalogue and customer market.

Codiber, the Chefchaouen renewable energy cooperative, consolidated and strengthened its competencies through theoretical-practical training it received as an installation company in the execution of the Tanafelt solar micro-grid.

by ivans

10 mesures per cooperativitzar els municipis

10 mesures per cooperativitzar els municipis.

Aquest 10 de maig la Federació de Cooperatives de Treball de Catalunya organitza l’acte de presentació de 10 mesures per cooperativitzar els municipis, una proposa concreta per impulsar les cooperatives amb la col·laboració dels ajuntaments, de cara a les pròximes eleccions municipals del 26 de maig.

Des d’Azimut 360 participem en el vídeo de presentació d’aquestes 10 mesures, que busquen impulsar el cooperativisme i l’economia social i solidària, entenent que som agents necessaris per a la democratització econòmica dels municipis i per un desenvolupament local transformador.

Volem que les cooperatives siguin un actor socioeconòmic clau en una economia més plural i per això cal emprendre diverses mesures. Entre d’altres, destaquem la millora de l’accés al finançament i ajuts, el foment de la intercooperació o la promoció de l’economia local. A més a més, es proposa incorporar el cooperativisme en l’àmbit educatiu, impulsar la recerca i desenvolupament en el sector i impulsar la gestió cooperativa i comunitària dels equipaments municipals.

Per més informació podeu veure al vídeo:

by ivans

New IDAE Self-consumption Procedural Guide

New IDAE Self-consumption Procedural Guide.

We have just brought out our new Self-consumption Procedural Guide drawn up by IDAE in collaboration with ENERAGEN. It arises from RD 244/2019 approved in April 2019 and aims to describe the procedures to be followed in the public administration and the distribution companies for the power generation facilities for self-consumption.

After the Royal Decree-Law 15/2018 and the doors it opened for measures such as the repeal of the “sun tax”, the simplification of the installation classes or the inclusion of shared self-consumption, in April 2019 the new regulatory framework was completed and approved in RD 244/2019. This law develops the administrative, technical and economic conditions of self-consumption, introduces individual and collective self-consumption configurations, establishes a simplified compensation for monthly surpluses and reorganizes the administrative registry of the installations, among others. It covers the new modes of self-consumption: self-consumption with surpluses (with or without compensation) and self-consumption without surpluses.

The Self-consumption Procedural Guide precisely contains this new legislation and offers the 17 administrative steps to follow for each modality described, either for individual or for collective installations. These may be in private homes, condominiums or industrial buildings. The guide also contains an analysis of the steps to be taken to correctly process installations carried out before the RD or installations to be expanded. It explains the simplified compensation mechanism and will soon explain the procedures in the autonomous regions.

The Guide is aimed at the general public, but above all at companies designing and installing self-consumption systems. We encourage you to consult it, as it is a good starting point to understand and be able to benefit from the new regulation.

To access the Guide, you can use this link:
https://www.idae.es/publicaciones/info-idae-060-guia-de-tramitacion-del-autoconsumo

by ivans

Es completa la Llei d’Autoconsum

Es completa la Llei d’Autoconsum.

El RD 244/2019, de 5 d’abril i pel qual es regulen les condicions de l’Autoconsum, completa la Llei d’Autoconsum del passat octubre de 2018

El nou Reial Decret completa el marc regulador de l’Autoconsum fixant les condicions tècniques econòmiques i administratives només esbossades en l’anterior llei, el RD 15/2018. Cal destacar tres novetats principals: la regulació dels conceptes d’autoconsum col·lectiu, la simplificació dels registres administratius i la fixació d’un sistema de compensació.

La reducció dels tràmits administratius i la simplificació del procés de registre aplica a instal·lacions renovables de fins a 15 kW en el cas que hi siguin autoconsum amb excedents, o fins a 100 kW, si no en tenen. Comporta la unificació de totes les gestions en una de sola: la notificació de la instal·lació de la petita planta de producció a l’autoritat competent. Per altra banda, amb la nova llei passa a ser el distribuïdor d’energia elèctrica aquell qui ha de modificar el contracte d’accés del seu client, que tan sols haurà de facilitar el seu consentiment. Per últim, se simplifiquen de manera considerable la configuració dels sistemes de mesura, de manera que en la major part de les instal·lacions és suficient l’ús d’un sol comptador frontera amb la xarxa de distribució.

Cal destacar també la regulació de la figura de l’autoconsum col·lectiu, fins ara inexistent. Abans d’aquesta llei només era possible l’autoconsum individual connectat a la xarxa interna, però ara ja es contempla que diversos consumidors comparteixin la mateixa planta de generació. Aquest pot ser el cas de comunitats de veïns o grups d’empreses en una mateixa zona industrial. Com a punt extra, ja es permeten les instal·lacions de producció pròximes a consum, no necessàriament ubicades al mateix edifici propietat del consumidor o del grup de consumidors.

Malgrat els canvis ja esmentats, el punt més esperat de la llei és sens dubte la introducció d’un sistema de compensació simplificat. S’aconsegueix afegint la modalitat d’autoconsum amb excedents acollida a compensació i suposa una novetat molt esperada pel sector, ja que possibilita que productor-consumidor faci un balanç d’energia mensual entre l’energia que importa de la xarxa a través companyia distribuïdora i la que produeix en règim d’autoconsum. L’energia sobrant del sistema no s’aboca a la xarxa gratuïtament, sinó que té un efecte de descompte en la factura elèctrica mes a mes. Això incrementa la rendibilitat de projectes d’instal·lacions renovables, entre altres, instal·lacions amb plaques fotovoltaiques.

Per més informació, podeu utilitzar la següent drecera al Reial Decret complet:

https://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2019-5089

by ivans

New model of municipal regulation for promoting self-consumption installations

New model of municipal regulation for promoting self-consumption installations.

The Working Group of Local Authorities of the Board for Promoting Photovoltaic Self-consumption in Catalonia, promoted by the Catalan Institute of Energy, approves a municipal regulation model that encourages the implementation of self-consumption installations using photovoltaic solar energy.

The proposed municipal regulation model results from the Photovoltaic Promotion Board in Catalonia and responds to Act 16/2017 of the Parliament of Catalonia, which establishes the need for municipalities to actively contribute to the objectives of the fight against climate change. Thus, the regulation is addressed to all municipalities that wish to incorporate and promote photovoltaic installations in their municipality, with the modifications they deem appropriate.

The first section defines the administrative actions the Council can take on solar photovoltaic self-consumption installations by setting simplified procedures. Specifically, it proposes a preliminary notification mechanism allowing installations to be executed when all the documentation is presented. This documentation must include a technical report of the installation, the official statement of the installation company, the detailed quote and the required proof of payment. Most of these documents are included in the Annex to the Regulation.

The second section sets the tax credits these facilities may be entitled to, specifically those affecting Property Tax and in the Tax on Buildings, Installations and Works. These are the proposed economic measures to incentivise these installations.

Click here to access the municipal regulations:

http://icaen.gencat.cat/web/.content/20_Energia/24_usos_energia/03_mon_local/05_autoconsum_fotovoltaic/arxius/OrdenancaMunicipal_AmbAnnexes.pdf

by ivans