"Romanian small communities, schools and NGOs promote climate friendly energy solutions". The project implemented by Prietenii Pamantului in partnership with Norges Naturvernforbund and Climate Action Network Romania has been conluded. It involved the most diverse direct target groups: children, parents, teachers, local authorities, activists and volunteers from environmental organisations, farmers, energy specialists etc.
30/09/2011
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Piscu kindergarden - Children wash their hands with water heated by the solar panels installed due to the demonstrative micro project of the Local Energy Planning Committee.
Photo credits: Ana Maria Balaoiu
As mentioned by the Norwagian partner, Dag Hoystad, the innovative product of the project, the 4 Local Energy Planning Committees in Brusturoasa, Piscu, Sarulesti and Sovata should become a normality in Romania. Implementing the local participative decision making, LEPCs’ goals were to support the local communities to find manageable solutions to community and households energy problems and to offer to citizens information and consultancy for improving the energy efficiency and to use renewable energy at home, in rural areas.
In Brusturoasa village, the number of individuals who decided to change their energy behaviour, to adopt measures of reducing energy consumption, and to invest in equipment for renewable energy, was the highest. The demonstrative equipment from the Centre for Traditions and Rural Sustainable Development rised interest and inspired the locals to do so.
Rica Popovici, who runs a small bussines producing timber, plans to purchase a pellet mill to process the resulting saw-dust from his activity. The economic calculations were favourable for the long term run: no payment for waste dump or for transporting the saw dust to processors, and in addition to this, the produced pellets could be sold. Rica is looking for a 100 kg pellets/hour mill, such instalation being able to ensure the processing of his entire amount of waste.
The mayor of Bruturoasa, Sorin Atonoaie, is also a good example. He supplemented the insulation to his old house and applied for funding from the Environmental Fund to install solar water heating system. Following his example, other two individuals applied too.
As public person, he was the leading force for thermal rehabilitation of two schools and the changing of the heating solution from electric to biomass in another school. Result: the comunity energy bill decreased drastically. Brusturoasa Local Council got funds from the Environmental Fund for an automatic saw-dust pellets burning boiler and a solar water heating system with high performance evacuated tubes on the newly renovated building of the Town Hall.
Catalin Musca, member of LEPC Piscu, applied for a grant in the European Program for Rural Development for a small factory producing straw briquets. In this way, he will be able to solve the problem of heating fuel in his region, where the wood is extremely expensive, but straw is in huge quantities. He got the technical advice from Earth Friends expert in energy issues to fill in the information sheet including calorific power tests, chemical analysis for burning emissions and the composition of ashes. All these test were made at the Dunarea de Jos University in Galati, with the support from the Center from Brusturoasa.
Projects like this one, with a strog component of demonstrative and practical activities are extremely useful, because they facilitate a correct flow of information in the field, assure high quality consultancy and offer training and education for rural audience.