Swiss Partners
EBP AG, Zurich,
www.ebp.ch, www.ebpchile.cl,
Nicola Borregaard
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Documentation
Swiss Contribution
Ciudad Energética is a local adaptation of the Energiestadt (Energy City) label, which was developed in Switzerland in 1992. This label is a proof of achievement for municipalities that implement sustainable municipal energy policies. A knowledge transfer is carried out between the Swiss project stakeholders (EBP and ENCO companies) and the local and regional stakeholders involved.
Description
The city of Cuenca has been experiencing an important demographic growth in recent years. Additionally, its commitment to sustainable development is challenged by problems such as traffic congestion, air pollution and a lack of concrete projects for implementation in energy efficiency and renewable energy areas. The aim is to establish the institutional and technical bases for energy efficiency/renewable energy promotion and development in this municipality with the possibility of scaling up to all of Ecuador. The project will adapt and implement the Energy City tool in the city of Cuenca. It will support local actors to carry out the Energy City process (energy diagnosis and action plan) and will establish a local multi-actor institutional framework to foster Energy City in the town beyond the project. Furthermore, it will materialize one or two concrete ‘early victory projects’ in collaboration with the private sector and provide a roadmap for the development of Energy City at the national level.
Results
A local energy strategy was developed, approved by the Municipality and presented at a public event in November 2019. In addition, the installation of a 12 kWp photovoltaic power system in the “Parque de La Libertad”, which positioned Cuenca as Ecuador’s first Energy City, was widely reported in the regional press. The action plan and an energy projects portfolio have been defined, thanks in particular to two participatory workshops in 2019 and the founding of a multi-stakeholder committee.
Impacts
Besides the infrastructure and documents produced for the City of Energy’s implementation in Cuenca, a detailed analysis was carried out for an Ecuadorian City of Energy programme roadmap. However, more experience at the municipal level is still needed before the potential can be realised at Ecuador’s national level.