Joint WE-WISIONS webinar: Small wind for powering off-grid communities

We invite you to join our webinar “Small wind for powering off-grid communities: Market assessment methodology and cases from Peru” on August 5 !

We will be hosting rural energy practitioners and experts from Wind Empowerment and Peruvian member organizations, WindAid and CERC, who will explore the potential of small wind to power off-grid communities, through discussing Wind Empowerment’s Market Assessment methodology and case studies from Peru. There will be time for discussion at the end of these presentations and we look forward to a lively discussion!

The webinar will be held on Wednesday, 5 August 2020 at 17:00 British Summer Time (GMT+1) and the presentation will be in English. More information about the content and the presenters may be found below. As always, feel free to spread the news wherever you see potential participants!

The webinar is jointly organised by WISIONS of Sustainability and Wind Empowerment.

Register for the webinar!


Abstract

Off-grid electrification solutions powered by renewable energy technologies are increasingly recognized as the most suitable alternative for reaching a great portion of the 800 million people lacking access to electricity today. In regions with suitable wind resources, and with appropriate planning, off-grid small wind turbines can provide significant contributions to closing the energy access gap.

  • How can the potential contribution of small wind for electrification schemes be assessed?
  • What should be considered in order to ensure that small wind turbines effectively contribute to close the energy access gap?
  • How can the benefits of small wind power be maximised?

Agenda (90 minutes)

  • 1st part: WE Market Assessment methodology (20 minutes)
  • 2nd part: CERC presentation of current experiences and proposed microgrid project in Peru (20 minutes)
  • 3rd part: WindAid presentation on small wind experiences in Peru (20 minutes)
  • Discussion (30 minutes)

About the presenters

Alfie Alsop is a PhD Candidate at Strathclyde University’s Wind and Marine Energy Centre for Doctoral Training, Glasgow, UK. His research involves integrating decision analysis and GIS techniques into market assessment methodologies for small wind turbines in a rural electrification context, building upon previous Wind Empowerment projects to assist policymakers and stakeholders in developing countries in making energy and planning decisions. Alfie joined Wind Empowerment in 2016, assisting the Market Assessment Working Group with the Global Market Assessment for Small Wind Turbines, and has been Treasurer of the Executive Board since the WEPatagonia 2016 conference.

Heduardo Vargas is a Peruvian professional in environmental sciences dedicated and committed to real sustainable development through concise and impactful actions. For the last five years, he has worked in the energy sector towards a greener energy future. He is the co-founder of the newest research group Microgrids for Sustainability and works as a project engineer in Peruvian company Waira Energía. He is in charge of designing photovoltaic, wind, and hybrid energy systems for projects in the whole country, considering technical, economic, environmental, and social aspects in the development. His teamwork and commitment have allowed him to represent his company in several conferences and training courses as both speaker and attendee, both nationally and internationally.

José Armando Gastelo-Roque believes energy transition is the pivotal issue to achieve sustainable development. He was born in Lambayeque-Perú and he holds a degree in Mechanical Electrical Engineering in Perú and Mexico. He is co-founder of the newly formed organization “Microgrids for Sustainability”, which seeks to provide energy access and to promote the energy transition through the implementation of renewable energy microgrids in Perú and Latin America. He is also a Development Engineer at Engie Peru, where he is dedicated to develop and to implement renewable energy projects. José Armando is passionate about science, his thesis focused on new hybrid metal-organic materials for solar cells. He has done research stays at the MIT in the United States and at the Balseiro Institute in Argentina. And he has participated in several international events, including the Wind Empowerment Conference 2018 in India, the Student Energy Summit 2019 in London and the IRENA Youth Forum 2020 in the United Arab Emirates

Kimon Silwal is an Electrical and Electronic Engineer graduate from Kathmandu University. He joined KAPEG in 2010 in the position of research staff and is currently working as the company manager. He has worked as an activity leader and project leader in numerous research and development projects until now with locally manufactured small wind technologies, solar-wind hybrid systems, low head pico-hydro turbines and control system, electric cooking stoves and water purification systems for off-grid applications in collaborations with national and international universities and government organization. Currently, his involvement has been focused towards developing effective standards, guidelines, and delivery models for the small wind turbines in Nepal while consolidating various areas for the further development of the off-grid solar and wind hybrid sector in Nepal.

Gandhi Alva was born in Trujillo Peru. He studied Anthropology at the National University of Trujillo. Working with many different Peruvian communities around the country doing social studies and social projects in order to benefit the locals. Additionally he has worked nationally and internationally with the Peruvian government and private organizations doing social projects ranging from: environmental, educational, female empowerment, construction and cultural heritage. With WindAid, as the Head of Community Project Development he has had the chance to develop social projects via researching the local populace and their interaction with the electricity provided by WindAid wind turbines and other activities in his area such as basic training of the WindAid turbine system or environmental education workshops. After an exceptional internship Gandhi was the first permanent Communities Employee for WindAid managing teams from all over the world to work directly with rural populations in over a dozen Peruvian communities understanding the impact of the wind turbines WindAid creates and creating more project opportunities with better refined planning and impact analysis.

WindAid turbine 1.7 installation in Playa Blanca (Source: WindAid)

Workshop with local kids in Playa Blanca (Source: WindAid)
WindAid turbine 4.0 in Nuevo Manzanilla (highlands) providing energy for a school (Source: WindAid)
Meeting with locals in Nuevo Manzanilla (Source: WindAid)
 

At CERC’s premises (Source: CERC)

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