IDEAS Innovation Contest

The IDEAS innovation contest, also known as the "Program to Promote Innovative Energy Projects and Project Ideas”, is an instrument to promote the development of sustainable energy applications in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Origin,and,Institutional,Setup

The contest was first launched in 2009 and granted financial support to 26 winning projects. In 2011 nine, in 2012 eight and in 2013 ten further projects were granted funding to promote innovative energy projects throughout LAC. IDEAS was initially financed by Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and funded with resources from a Korean Fund for Technology and Innovation (KPK) as well as the Sustainable Energy and Climate Change (SECCI) multi-donor fund. The program was carried out with the support of Global Village Energy Partnership (GVEP) and the Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ, today GIZ). The institutional set-up as well as the geographic scope of IDEAS varied slightly in the following years.

Objective

The concept behind the program is to provide financial support for people to develop and share their innovative ideas on how to improve the use of renewable energy, energy efficiency and energy access. The progress in these fields is achieved on small to medium scale projects with emphasis on up-scaling efforts, an activity, which was explicitly asked for in the the project proposals.

Implementation

The innovation contest was launched across LAC with regional and local partners. A total of 1,094 applications from 27 countries were received in this first contest out of which 850 were deemed eligible. After being evaluated by a team of experts the final shortlist was established and judges, nominated by the sponsors selected the winning proposals. 264 proposals were shortlisted and 26 were selected as the winners. Each winner received a two-year development grant of up to US$200,000. GVEP International and the other contest sponsors committed to working closely with the winners to provide technical advice, access to other experts, institutions as well as to funders and investors.

In summary, the program targeted innovations with a positive impact on climate change, energy access and poverty reduction in LAC; the thematic thrusts of the IDB, GVEP International and GIZ at that time. Many of the projects were associated with initiatives of non-profit institutions (mostly universities) based in the region. However, IDEAS explicitly encouraged the participation of the private sector in the contest to improve the leverage of the innovations. A distinctive characteristic of IDEAS is the absence of restrictions on the form of eligible organizations and individuals. Not only enterprises or governments can apply but any institution, legal body or individual that has an idea for increasing the use of sustainable energy for the people of LAC.

THE IDEAS Projects

For an interactive map of the IDEAS projects follow this [link http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=117139491179217746498.0004781832f33a8ab9967&ll=-12.983148,-65.742187&spn=68.671475,96.679688&t=p&z=4]

El Salvador Innovative photovoltaic charging stations against poverty

The project developers set up the company “Enfoca” to build and sell solar-powered charging stations for LED lamps, mobile phones, radios and small televisions. The company employed people on the periphery of society by virtue of disability or homelessness to work on the production lines. Enfoca produced 200 solar chargers and sold 123 until the end of the grant agreement. Enfoca partnered with HSBC and a local bank to provide finance for the solar charging systems which were marketed at approximately $100 per product.

Saint Lucia Waste Banana to Ethanol

The project set up a bioethanol factory in St Lucia converting waste of banana cultivation to ethanol. Contracts were signed with farmers who provided 10t of feedstock per week and a solar PV system was installed to provide lighting for the plant. Two fuel stations agreed to sell the blended fuel. Marks and Spencer’s sponsored two ethanol powered vehicles leading international attention in the media. The plant had reached full production but was waiting for the petroleum dealer’s license that they required to blend and retail the fuel.

Brazil Forest Fuels

The ‘forest fuel’ project aimed to build a model for clean renewable energy in an area with indigenous population and use a local training in Rio Branco to provide the required capacity building. The objective was to source local plant oils to power converted diesel engines. However, it was found that the potential of wild oil bearing palm species was too low; hence the decision was made to use Jatropha. Trees were planted and an irrigation system installed after a period of drought. Although one diesel motor canoe was successfully converted to run on straight vegetable oil, the overall schedule of the project was affected the by these changes. The project was extended until 2013.

Brazil LED lamps for shrimp fishermen

Shrimp fishermen were assisted to switch from using gas to solar powered lamps by mean of a company that sold LED solar lanterns supported by a microcredit program of local banks. Capacity building for solar applications, marketing and business development was provided for local enterprises. Poor weather dramatically affected the project progress as it resulted in a decreased demand from fishermen for the LED lanterns. Consequently, the additional activity of renting solar house system to a forestry company was included. As a result, 24 solar house systems were installed, 14 LED systems sold and 156 beneficiaries could be identified.

Chile Ethanol from Cheese Waste

Primarily a research project, two pilot photo-bioreactors were developed with the objective of producing bio-ethanol from residues of the milk industry. One reactor was setup for the production of bio-ethanol and the second to process CO2 to produce biomass. The chemical optimum composition of microorganisms and ideal conditions for production are to be investigated. The pilot plant was designed and is still in the construction phase as major setbacks due to the inability to source components in Chile lead to a redesign of the plant.

Colombia Coffee and Banana Waste to Ethanol

Organic by-products of coffee and banana cultivation were recycled to reduce the environmental degradation. A micro plant was set up and its ethanol production exceeded expectations. The bioethanol produced had been tested on a flex fuel vehicle, an ethanol stove and an 8kW power generator. The project integrated research, design and construction of the pilot plant with a decisive community based approach that gained them the support and help of the Coffee Federation. Fifty coffee growers were involved with projections of another 150 becoming involved in the near future.

Colombia Growing local plant oils for town power generation

An off-grid community of 2,363 people was supplied with energy from an ethanol plant running on ethanol produced from Jatropha. The town now receives a 24/7 reliable power service. A local energy utility was created with 4 permanent jobs employing a further 50 temporary workers and 20 field workers. There were 500 energy service users and 60 small producers. 60 farmers were trained in Jatropha cultivation, with 50 farmers participating in the Small Producers Association. 35 hectares of Jatropha were planted and another 200 ha were at a greenhouse stage at the end of the funding period. Full industrial production of oil will be possible by year 2014. The project has received several prizes. Negotiations with the government were held to replicate the project in other towns.

Colombia Gas and liquid fuels from recycling old tires using microwave technology

A small prototype was built to validate the assumptions made in the design stage of the technology that generates gas and liquid fuels from old tires by using microwaves. The project encountered slight delays; however the pilot plant was able to process the tires. Environmental impact and feasibility studies were carried out and came to a satisfactory conclusion. Further investment from social investors and other donors was acquired in order to continue to the next phase of the development. The project has been awarded several prizes.

Honduras Creating local renewable energy markets for Rural SME’s

Village franchises were planned and access to finance was made available through micro-credit schemes. A renewable energy centre for training and development of micro-entrepreneurs has been established. 21 sessions were held with focus on installation, maintenance and promotion of RE systems. 25 technicians received training and are able to share their knowledge with others / provide training to others. 745 RE systems (improved cooking stoves and solar panels) were sold, partially with support of micro-credits. In addition, staff in 9 SMEs was trained and 4 finance institutes were operating ad-hoc credit lines. A campaign for improved stoves was also carried out. The renewable energy centre has received favourable recognition and acceptance in the area.

Peru Designing and commercializing high efficiency water wheels

Waterwheels using energy from run of river currents were installed to generate electricity. Capacity building measures to build and maintain this equipment and also to promote its use were carried out. 5 of the 8 planned waterwheels were installed and extract coffee pulp, replace fossil fuel driven machines, provide water for irrigation and drive an AC generator providing electricity for households.

Peru Solar micro-franchising in rural areas

A business model that would make solar electric power available to low-income rural homes in a cost-efficient way and provides electricity to 800 families was to be developed and tested. A private company was “micro-franchised” to carefully selected members of the community. The franchises offered a portfolio of products ranging from a small portable solar lamp to a home solar system including an inverter. The parent company “GENERA” was responsible for training and supervising its representatives and providing stock. The project resulted in having sold 1,051 solar products and increased access to solar energy products for 4,370 people.

Saint Vicent & Grenadines Social Networking for Energy Efficiency

Welectricity is an enterprise that built an online platform that uses social networking and behavioural economics as the cornerstone of their project. The aim was to develop a web application that allows users to share information on their energy consumption habits, which can then be compared against their peers. The social network application had registered users from 96 countries. The project has originally intended to license its software to local utilities and several meetings took place with EDF UK on the prospect of the software being used as part of EDF’s Team Green Britain program, however no licensing agreements have yet materialized thus the project’s business model is still to be validated.

Peru Using renewable energy for productive use

Renewable energy would be used in order to add value to farming products such as herbs or medicinal plants and grains, generate new cheese and fruit activities, train the participants in the organization in the tasks required for each step in the productive chain, improve the image of the community and organize a tourist infrastructure. 20 people in the community were trained in the cultivation of vegetables with greenhouse constructions and the use and monitoring of improved cook stoves, production of a dairy herd, 2 solar water heater system installations for sanitation purposes and plantation across 10 acres of pasture. A large communal solar dryer (16.7 m2) was built and is able to dry 200 kg of fresh herbs at a time. A cheese-processing plant was also set up.

Renewable Energy Road show

12 cities were visited in Peru and Chile each. More than 400 people were trained and more than 10,000 people informed about the benefits of renewable energy technologies for their households and businesses. A website launched as: www.energiaverde.pe displays the main contents of the project. A video of the project was also distributed online. The enterprise that organized the road show has strengthened its capacity as a business and could then offer a variety of marketing and promotional services related to renewable energy and energy efficiency. After completion of the project Green Energy SRL was invited to carry out a similar road show in Uruguay.

Panama Energy efficiency in air conditioning

The project aimed to increase the energy efficiency by up to 35% of air conditioning systems in large size buildings, such as the hospital and other public administration buildings by installing an automated regulation of the airstream of the air conditions. Individually flaps would be integrated into the ventilation channels and reduce airflow if necessary. The enterprise completed all activities under their grant agreement; such as feasibility studies but was unable to commercialize their product. They have come to an agreement to pilot their project at the National Hospital.

Brazil- Optimization of systems for the extraction of tidal energy

A mathematical model was developed in order to find the optimal locations of tidal current power generators. The optimization model for tidal current turbine farms was developed and successfully applied to São Marcos Bay in Brazil. Commercial development of this project is the long term aim. Currently the project focuses on conducting pilot research and designing a model for choosing optimal locations for turbines according to the hydrography of the selected sites.