Ventos De Poupança 2: Energy + Social

The project “Ventos de Poupança 2”, developed by Oeste Sustentável, consisted in the development of an inter-school competition in seven regions of Portugal (Oeste, Barreiro, Moita, Montijo, Seixal, Cascais and Alta Estremadura) involving 25 municipalities and 1.25 million people. The competition aimed to encourage students and the entire inherent social chain (families, teachers, students and communities) to adopt good practices related to energy consumption, and inform about solutions to reduce consumption.

The goal of the inter-school competition was to carry out educational activities using a smartphone application with a didactic game, used by ages 8 to 88 years old, to reward schools and IPSS (private social solidarity institutions) promoting energy efficiency as well as social and intergenerational cooperation.

The school teams that achieved the best classifications received a wind turbine a photovoltaic panel, or a LED room. The evaluation of the works were made by a jury composed of members invited by the partner energy agencies and at the end of the project, diplomas were awarded to the 30 best ranked schools in terms of consumption savings over the two years of implementation of the competition. Participation plates were handed to the participating schools.

The high number of people that participated in the final award ceremony – more than 120 students and teachers from 22 schools and 29 IPSS, from 25 municipalities – is proof of the good social acceptance of the project, thus revealing the great interaction and involvement of the whole community.

The direct cost-benefit of the project represents an investment of 0.25 cents per inhabitant, for an estimated savings of 2.0 GWh yearly. The potential for savings and cost avoidance is of approximately 244€/year, that is, with a virtual return on investment in less than a year. The estimated electricity consumption reduction is of 1.0 GWh in school buildings and 1.0 GWh in housing buildings for the target population, annually from the second year of the project onwards.

The project has been financed by Electricity Consumption Promotion Plan, promoted by the Energy Services Regulatory Authority of Portugal.

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