IDEAS Energy Contest: Electrifying isolated towns - from vegetable oils to energy.
- Aims
- To create environmentally friendly energy from vegetable oils, to be then be used in isolated towns.
- Region
- Latin America and the Caribbean
- Status
- Planning
- Summary
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Small-scale Colombian farmers will produce bio fuels to replace diesel. Mapiripan, an isolated town of 2363 inhabitants will be the main beneficiary of this initiative.
This project is one of the award-winning projects from the 2009 IDEAS Energy Innovation Contest for improving energy efficiency and expanding access to renewable energy. The contest is jointly sponsored by GVEP International, GTZ, the Inter-American Development Bank and the Korean Government.
This project is funded by GVEP International.
- Full Description
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The project aims to generate electricity and produce an alternative to diesel. It aims to produce enough bio fuels to supply the entire town of Mapiripan, Colombia which has a population of 2363 people. It is anticipated that supply of electricity will increase from 7 hours a day to 24 hours a day.
As well as the town’s inhabitants, the farmers will benefit from increased income and employment – the scheme will create around 160 new jobs. The cost of living for everyone will be reduced as the cost of this type of renewable energy is less than that of diesel. The quality of the local environment will also be improved.
If the project is successful it will be used as a blueprint for similar projects across South America.About the winner: Poligrow Colombia is a multinational company dedicated to the development of the agricultural sector by growing plants to make vegetable oils and their derivatives.
