23.03.2017

Under the title "Energy, Forestry, and Climate Change," the fifth Leader experience exchange in the region took place on March 15 and 16 in the region of El Ripollès, Girona. The purpose of the visit was to coordinate possible cooperation between local action groups to implement the Leader project "Energy, Forestry, and Climate Change" (ENFOCC).

The meeting, organized by the National Rural Network and the Ripollès Ges Bisaura Local Action Group (LAG), brought together representatives of the Local Action Groups (LAGs) that are part of this Leader ENFOCC project and people involved in Rural Smart Grid projects.
ENFOCC is a cooperation project coordinated by the Associació per la gestion del programa Leader Ripollès Ges Bisaura , which has the participation of the 11 Catalan LAGs, and which will soon be joined by 5 from other autonomous communities and one French one, whose objective is to make local entities, different economic sectors and the general population understand that a new energy and forestry culture is possible. To achieve this, it is necessary to act to mitigate and adapt to climate change through the implementation of methodologies, systems and technologies for energy efficiency , the use of endogenous resources and renewable energy sources , and the establishment of smart territorial management processes .

The first day began with a presentation by Ramón Sans, an expert in energy transition, who led a debate on the efficient use of renewable energy, self-consumption, and self-sufficiency as future paths.

Albert Puigvert, manager of the Association of Rural Initiatives of Catalonia, and Eduard Paredes, technician of the Association Leader Ripollès Ges Bisaura, explained the axes of the project and the collective and individual actions that comprise it, which were then debated and analyzed by the participants, who drew conclusions that could be extrapolated to other groups, as well as proposals and improvements in each of the 3 axes of the project: energy efficiency , biomass and forest management , and climate change .

The second day's presentations focused on the Rural Smart Grid, and were given by Pep Salas of Smartgrid , who spoke about the " opportunities of the confluence of energy and telecommunications in the rural world ," highlighting the importance of information analysis and transfer in the applicable energy transition, and how to make the technology available according to needs.

Secondly, Anna Lluís and Joaquim Corominas, from Simbiosy , presented the data from the Rural Smart project valuation study of 12 indicators and sub-indicators .

Finally, a visit was made to Estabanell Energía , an organization carrying out a pioneering project through the installation of a smart electricity distribution microgrid in rural areas. Its representative, Santi Martínez, explained the origins and progress of the project, part of the Rural Smart Grids program , which aims to implement smart energy grid services in rural areas to guarantee the electricity supply to the population while simultaneously utilizing surplus energy obtained from renewable sources.

The exchange was highly successful due to its innovative nature, the commitment of the attendees, and the interest shown by the authorities and companies in the sector. The results will be evident upon completion of the proposed cooperation project.