Several actors from the Latin American energy community gathered in the city of Cusco, Peru, in August for the Regional Workshop on Small Hydropower and Development of Renewable Energy organized by GVEP International.
The aim of the workshop was to support the winning projects of the 2009 IDEAS Energy Innovation Contest co-funded by GVEP International, GTZ, IDB and the South Korean government, enabling winners working with hydro energy, as well as other energy entrepreneurs, to receive expert advice and valuable information on funding opportunities and carbon credits.
The event saw the participation of a variety of stakeholders ranging from financiers to project developers, innovators, entrepreneurs, academics, students and renewable energy enthusiasts.
According to Paul Reguénès, Regional Manager for Microsol, an organization that works on identifying carbon market opportunities the event was “precisely the platform needed to exchange knowledge, success stories and advance the renewable energy agenda”.
Other industry experts were also invited to make presentations. These were from the private and the financial sector of the energy industry – including carbon markets – as well as researchers and representatives of government agencies with extensive knowledge of small hydro in developing countries.
At the end of the two-day workshop, several participants expressed optimism with regards to changes that are occuring within the renewable energy sphere. One of them was Rafael Escobar, Manager of the Programme of Energy for Infrastructure and Services at Practical Action – ITDG who believed that the workshop was a clear sign that times have changed. “I’m pleased to see an active interest and participation on behalf of private enterprises and government's agencies in the promotion these new forms of energy. A decade ago this would have been unthinkable” he said.
According to Jesus Gomez, head of the GVEP International sponsored project Optimization of a system to extract energy from tidal currents, there is hope for this kind of work. “You see a light at the end of the tunnel that suddenly seems to indicate that there may be room for these kinds of projects, at least in respects to hydropower,” – he said – “Hopefully the interest we find in Peru and Chile will extend to other Latin American countries.”
Funding is the most common issue for any project, and not the easiest to address. Nevertheless, the workshop attendees learned something new about “the relationship between research and business: how scientific research is unded and how it develos into busness”, as noted by Pedro Flores, a professor at the University of San Agustin de Arequipa.
The workshop also aroused the interest of the local press in part because the issue of energy is a long-standing and contentious issue in Cuzco. Pedro Gamio (GVEP International), was invited to take part on a morning TV show, La Jornada presented by the notorious journalist Mario Carrión.
Numerous were the telephone calls received during the show by spectators who wanted to share their opinions or simply attend the workshop. One of them was Jaime Cifuentes Echegaray, a specialist in electronics who is involved in rural electrification training ended up actively participating in the workshop and was able to make links with Miguel Hadzich, of the IDEAS Water wheels project developed by the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. Echegray acknowledged the frequent electricity failures that occur in Cusco and Apurimac and offered support to the Miguel. Following on from this, Mr Hadzich spoke of the possibility of a future collaboration between the pair for the benefit of the rural communities in the southern Andes.
There was little doubt across the board that at the end of two-day workshop the participants’ perspectives on the future of renewable energy were positive. According to Rafael Escobar of Practical Solutions - ITDG “it is essential that GVEP continues to drive innovation alongside with projects development as hardly any space is given to innovation in our country.
Here at GVEP International we believe that the workshop was a resounding success and have been buoyed by the overwhelming positive feedback which we have received from attendees. However, as Pedro Gamio concluded, “The long term impact of the workshop depends in part on the ability of the various stakeholders who attended the Cusco workshop interacting and collaborating to establish mutually beneficial trade ties”.
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