Connecting homes and schools to clean energy sources in Yabotí biosphere reserve.
Cooking, heating water, or the house during winter, reading, listening to the radio, charging your phone, using the computer, watching TV – most people take these activities for granted in the 21st century, but for thousands of inhabitants in Argentina’s remote rural communities without electricity it is a challenge.
Since 1999, the Renewable Energy in Rural Markets Project (PERMER) has aimed to put an end to this situation. Supported by the World Bank and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the initiative connects homes and schools to clean energy sources such as solar panels and windmills.
The PERMER project is structured around the following components:
- Installation of: a) solar home systems (SHS) for households; b) photovoltaic systems for public service institutions such as schools, hospitals, and public buildings; c) mini-hydro plants, diesel or diesel-RET hybrids, other low-carbon electricity systems (including stand alone or collective grid electricity systems); d) solar thermal systems for water and space heating; and e) water pumping stations, and energy efficient equipment. Supply would be by either public or private concessionaires.
- Installation of wind home systems (WHS), following the community-based pilots instituted under PERMER, by either public or private concessionaires.
- Capacity building and technical assistance activities.
Proyecto de Energías Renovables en Mercados Rurales (PERMER) – PDF
