A village with more than 700 people fed with renewable energy in Cape Verde
The village of Vale da Custa located in Cape Verde where more than 700 people live is 100% renewable. Its energy is generated by means of a mixed installation, based on solar and electric energy, equipped with the latest technology of the moment in installations of great power isolated from the electrical net.
This project has been developed thanks to the cooperation of the Ricam Business Cluster, where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Government of the Canary Islands, the Canary Islands Technological Institute and companies such as Dobontech, Sotec, Integra Renovables and Enair among others participated.
Before its execution, the entire Vale da Custa village with more than 117 homes, school, administration, health and business, operated independently with small groups of gasoline and without public lighting service; Generating large private expenses and many health and food complications due to lack of energy.
The project consisted of the total realization of an electric grid distributed throughout the village exactly like any low voltage grid. This network, instead of being connected to a transformation center powered by the medium voltage grid of the electricity distributor, has been connected to a hybrid generation center with renewable energies, with Enair wind energy and photovoltaic.
From Enair a complete needs and resource study was carried out together with technicians from ITC and SMA obtaining the final optimum configuration. This configuration is able to create a three-phase grid of 30 KW of power and allows to generate about 6,000 kwh / month thanks to 3 Enair 70 wind turbines and 20 Kw in Photovoltaic.
The energy created by renewable sources, currently allows the people of Vale da Custa have drinking water, lighting in public services, energy in their homes centrally and above all has improved the health center, being able to keep medicines in cold and provide medical help To the residents of the village. In short, the renewables have brought quality of life and well-being to the villagers and all this with free energy thanks to the use of the natural resources of the area.
This installation was inaugurated by the Canarian president and the Cape Verdean prime minister, means providing this locality with a modern system that covers all their energy needs, and a milestone in Cape Verde's sustainable development strategy, by becoming the first zone of The island of Santiago and the second in all Cape Verde in supplying itself completely of renewable energies.
