The EcoEnLight

Location: Almada, Portugal

Population: 174,030

Climate: Mediterranean

Duration: 2011- 2013

Sector: Lighting

Funding sources: Public

City networks:  none

Savings: A decrease of 40% in energy needs for public lighting, which represents a reduction of nearly 0.6 Gigawatt hours (GWh) and 300 tons of Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2eq).

Solutions: Application of efficient control and command equipment based on information and communication technologies (ICT) for optimized management of public lighting system [source].

Multiple benefits: Energy savings as well as CO2 reductions.

The work consists of the employment of efficient control and command equipment based on ICT which contribute to a significant decrease in energy consumption as an outcome of optimized management of public lighting equipment [source].

Objective – The municipality of Almada implemented EcoEnLight between 2011 and 2013 and the goal was to improve the energy efficiency of Almada’s public lighting system, which represents more than 60% of the municipality’s energy consumption.

Solutions – A smart tele-management system for Almada’s public lighting system was procured and implemented. This tele-management system manages remotely the public lighting intensity in Almada by adjusting the luminous flux of all the lights throughout the day. Therefore, a more efficient and tailored energy consumption coming from the public lighting system can be guaranteed, which fully consider the needs of the citizens who use Almada’s roads during day and night.

Funding – EcoEnLight has been co-funded by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) (50%) and Almada City Council own resources (50%). The total funded amount was € 464.000,00 [source].

Innovation – The city of Almada contributed to this project through the “Almada Less Carbon Fund”, which is a one-of-a-kind initiative in Portugal. Such funding instruments are not widely used yet. Almada’s fund is a voluntary scheme that fosters the City Council’s investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Success factors – An integrated approach to financing has been essential to the success of Almada’s strategy for carrying out actions and measures related to energy efficiency and renewable energy production. The planning phase and pilot projects of EcoEnLight were financed by combining the grants from the European Structural and Cohesion Funds (ICT Policy Support programme) with the city’s contribution through its local climate fund, the “Almada Less Carbon Fund”.

Significant outcomes:

• 40% reduction in energy needs for public lighting. This illustrates a reduction of nearly 0.6 GWh and 300 tons of CO2eq.
• €80,000 million estimated savings (maintenance and electricity costs) [source].
• Roughly 1500 light points were refurbished which means approximately 5% of all the public lighting in Almada [source].
• 80% reduction in energy requirements of traffic lights thanks to the use of LED technology.

Synergies with local policies:

• Almada’s Climate Fund. It is an instrument created in 2009 and it is supported by a specific budget line for energy efficiency and renewable energy investments dependent on an evaluation of the CO2 emissions from the municipal activities from the previous year.

 Political alignment:

• Third National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency (NEEAP) establishes as a national objective to make energy efficiency a priority in energy policy, taking into account that to date Portugal has no endogenous fossil resources, nor enough primary energy purchases to influence market prices (price-taker), and that the increase in energy efficiency promotes energy security and protection with good value for money.
• The National Action Plan for Renewable Energy for the 2013-2020 period (PNAER 2020) sets the target of 31% for the use of renewable energy sources in gross final energy consumption and 10% for energy consumption in transport, by 2020.
• Long-Term Strategy for Carbon Neutrality of the Portuguese Economy in 2050 sets as an objective, for the reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions for Portugal between 85% and 90% by 2050, compared to 2005, and the compensation of the remaining emissions through the use of soil and forests, to be achieved through an emission reduction trajectory between 45% and 55% by 2030, and between 65% and 75% by 2040, in relation to 2005 [source].

 Marketability:  This practice was replicated into several project partners: Southern and Eastern Ireland, Vzhodna Slovenija, in Slovenia, Bretagne, in France, Mazowieckie, in Poland and Sachsen-Anhalt, in Germany.

The partner from the Municipality of Lorient, in France, highlighted the potential for learning from this practice, as the City Council was renovating their public lighting system. They wanted to learn more about this practice and afterwards, better inform the project foreseen for enhancing the energy efficiency of the lighting system in the city of Lorient.

Additionally, the partners from Maribor, in Slovenia, and Mazowieckie, in Poland, were setting up the refurbishment of their street lighting system. Their focus was the ex-post evaluation, with a focus on the effectiveness and sustainability of Almada’s practice [source].