The initiatives carried out by the Municipality of Loulé in terms of energy efficiency, with particular emphasis on a pioneering project throughout the region – the Municipal Energy Charter, were presented this Friday in the hall of the Municipal Assembly.
Created in a partnership between the Municipality and AREAL – Regional Agency for Energy and Environment of the Algarve, the Energy Charter is a database that comes after an exhaustive technical survey of public lighting, namely with regard to lamps and transformation poles, and which is available on the municipal website, marked on maps of these areas and satellite images.
From this platform, citizens will be able to report public lighting problems that occur throughout the Municipality, namely blown light bulbs, damaged lamps, poor placement of poles or cases of waste.
The requests are sent directly to the services that will make the appropriate forwarding, activating the necessary steps, and sending a response email to the residents.
“This way, it will be possible to increase the confidence that citizens have in our services, there is a great deal of interaction with the citizen. It is a concrete situation that is being reported, and they will feel that the Municipality is monitoring the situation”, explained the councilor responsible for the department, Aníbal Moreno.
For José Oliveira, from AREAL, this Letter is about “the transposition of the added value of all the work performed to the citizen, through the application developed by the technical department of the Municipality, which will allow communicating problems that may exist with the services. in terms of lighting”.
The regional director of economy, Gilberto Viegas, said that this is “an extremely important tool for interacting with citizens, but also in terms of reducing municipal energy budgets”.
It should be noted that, in the first phase, this survey was carried out in the cities of Loulé and Quarteira, and the urban areas of the parish of Almancil are now being carried out. This is followed by a survey of all parish seats in the municipality.
Energy saving actions in the Municipality of Loulé
In line with the national goal of having a 2020% reduction in energy consumption by 20, the Municipality of Loulé is associated with this government plan, and all initiatives that have been carried out in the Municipality point to this goal.
In a review in terms of the Municipality's concern in terms of energy efficiency, councilor Aníbal Moreno began by stressing that this is a global work for the entire Chamber and not just for electricity services.
Thus, in terms of public lighting, projects for the creation or remodeling of the road network are taking into account these aspects of energy saving, with the use of highly energy efficient technologies.
As an example, Aníbal Moreno mentioned Rua de Vale Formoso, in Almancil, which has already been completed, Avenida Mota Pinto, in Quarteira, which is under construction, and in Loulé, a project that will soon start and that says regarding the connection of the Bus Terminal to the North Bypass (access roundabout to Salir).
The installation of astronomical clocks that allow control of the turning on and off of luminaires, at the level of the transformer stations, with half an hour's delay/anticipation, is another of the ongoing actions. By the end of 2011, 82 of these devices had been installed, and it is expected that by the end of March another 80 clocks will be installed. This is an investment made by EDP, the city's partner throughout this process, which will allow savings of around 10% in energy.
Also in terms of public lighting, 32 luminous flux reducers will be installed this month, which will make it possible to change the lighting intensity at the desired times. The investment, made through an application to the QREN, is around 360 thousand euros, and will allow savings of 25% in energy.
“However, we will not forget that above all this is people's safety. Obviously, it's not just about saving and worrying about the bill at the end of the month, we can't ignore that people's safety comes first”, stressed the official.
The 100% coverage of the Municipality at the level of LED traffic lights, a process completed since 2006, is yet another example of the municipality's pioneering spirit.
On the other hand, Loulé has already signed the protocol for joining the Electric Mobility Pilot Network. At a time of certain uncertainty in this matter, the councilor for the department expressed the commitment of the Municipality of Loulé in moving forward with actions in this area, such as the installation of charging points for electric vehicles, creation of exclusive parking areas for these vehicles and renovation of the municipal fleet of light vehicles through the purchase of electric vehicles.
With regard to reactive energy, the installation of 11 electrical panels by October 2011 stands out, in an investment of 30 thousand euros, with a return of less than two years, and in continuous monitoring.
In the various water deposits – Tôr, Cruz da Assumada, Barreiros, Barreiras Brancas and Goncinha – remote management systems are already operating. “This allows for significant energy savings because the consumption control is managed. This system will pump water in periods when the energy cost is lower”, explained Aníbal Moreno.
As for municipal equipment, the councilor spoke of the concern in terms of energy certification for all buildings in the City Council, and the “sensitivity to balancing the importance of this certification and its effective result”.
Audits with surprising results
In addition to what has already been done in primary schools and kindergartens (32 energy audits), the audits carried out in the Paços do Concelho building, Loulé Pools, Loulé Pavilion and Quarteira Pools, the latter with amazing results.
In terms of solar thermal, it is worth mentioning the work in the Loulé Municipal Pavilion, where an investment of 30 thousand euros is planned for the implementation of a solar energy system for the production of domestic hot water.
The Municipal Swimming Pools of Loulé will also be equipped with this system, in an estimated investment of 140 thousand euros. Both situations will happen in the coming months, in a technical work carried out by AREAL and with an application already approved to the QREN.
Finally, the councilor for the department spoke of the work carried out in the collection of used cooking oils, with the installation of 30 oil tanks in 2011, with the installation of another 30 oil oil tanks being planned this year, in partnership with the company Reciclimpa. This initiative means an average monthly collection of 650 liters of used cooking oil.
But with the increase in the number of oleons, an increase in collection to 1200 liters per month is expected. “Since these oils are transformed into biodiesel, this means notable savings but also revenue for the Municipality”, guaranteed the official.
Seruca Emídio, president of the Municipality of Loulé and representative of the Algarve's municipalities at AREAL, underlined the fact that Loulé is the most advanced municipality in the Algarve in this matter. The mayor expressed the importance of energy rationalization in terms of “quality of life for populations and the quality of the environment”.
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