Promoting renewable energies - RETS Project

Association of Municipalities of Cove ad
Beira, with Pinhel, Portugal
This project is intended to strengthen the Cross the
Border Energetic Optimisation Plan (PTOE) bonds for
the development of Renewable Energies. PTOE’s main
goal was: to analyse and study the municipality buildings'
electrical energy consumption, through the consumer’s
monthly readings and its characteristics, as well as
presenting solutions for the rationalisation of energy via
proposed corrections / alterations for a more efficient
management use of energy in those buildings.
The study, which involved the Energy Optimisation Plan,
is divided in four major areas which are:
Energy optimisation of Public lighting networks;
Energy optimisation of Municipal buildings;
Taxes optimisation study;
Powering factor correction.
This project had a total cost of: €750,000. As far as
Pinhel is concerned the Public lighting survey was made
to 21 conversion posts in total 1,464 light spots (of which
74% were sodium vapour light bulbs and 26% were
mercury vapour light bulbs). The estimated energy
reduction percentage is equivalent to 38%, which
economically speaking represents an amount of €49,446
if all measures were to be taken. These goals can only
be obtained after a global investment of €136,125 in
energy efficient equipment, being the estimated time of
the investment's feedback of 2.75 years. These
measurements also bring an environmental benefit
through the reduction of polluting CO2 emissions of about
562 ton/per year.
Four Phases are planned, with phase 1, including the
creation of an inventory data base (an energy
dependency study); phase 2 with tariff analysis and data
procession; phase 3 with the elaboration of an action
plan (explicitly stating the measures); and phase 4
involving the training of the municipal energy manager.
One of the projects within the PTOE is MUNIEnergy:
It is a Municipal Energetic Optimisation project which
suggested measures targeted by both technical and
economic studies aiming at the practical application of
the measures identified in the PTOE. It investigates
replacing electric energy by solar energy in sports’
pavilions, biomass energy in swimming pools and to
produce electricity from solar conversion.
Whilst a 32% reduction in bills for public lighting was
achieved by the installation of a hundred lighting flux
regulators placed on the transformation polls (to fit the
light intensity to the hours of less movement) and by the
replacement of over 8,600 light bulbs for electronic
ballasts. The project includes 24 water heating systems
across the Municipalities, 1400 m 2 of solar panels,
reducing fossil fuel consumption by 890 MW, and CO2 by
550 tonnes.
Street lamps in Pinhel, Portugal
RETS Compendium – © 2012 RETS Consortium
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