Ageneal has built reputation as the local platform and expert for climate mitigation and adaptation measures in the Portuguese municipality of Almada. The climate and energy agency currently has sixteen associates or stakeholders who are committed to intensifying engagement with the citizens of Almada to reduce the municipalities carbon footprint.
AGENEEAL stands for AGENcia municipal de Energia de ALmada. Ageneal are the lead partners in Interreg Europe's INTENSIFY project. Addressing the Intenisfy project partents and stakeholders in Dessau-Roblau, Germany today, Ageneal's representative (Joao Cleto) stated that that Ageneal has been in existence for almost twenty years, with the objective of (a) contributing to the use of energy efficient technologies in Almada, through the rational use of energy and increasing the use of endogenous energy resources AND (b) becoming a local platform and centre of expertise for all matters relating to climate and energy.
As part of a community with a drive to reduce carbon emissions Almada faces many challenges, including a high population density (c. 2,500 people per km2), proximity to a much larger city (Lisbon) and a high demand for energy in the transport, buildings (houses and offices) and industrial sectors.
Ageneal contributes positively to Almada local development strategy. The contribution is based on three principels - Sustainability, Solidarity and Eco-Efficiency.
Ageneal has fostered and established networks of contacts and partnerships both locally, nationally and EU wide. Participation in European Union sponsored projects helped in this regard. The projects relate to a lot of energy related issues. They include mobility/transport issues, energy reduction in buildings, urban services and renewable energy. These projects including Intensify enable Ageneal to share experiences and information with experts from throughout Europe.
Since 2006, Ageneal has helped the region of Almada to reduce its carbon footprint by 21%.
The Almada Less Climate Fund was established in 2009 to support municipal climate mitigation actions by the municipality. The fund is managed by Ageneal who also provide the expertise to ensure that the projects save money and reduce the municipalities carbon footprint. Since the fund was established many projects have been undertaken including the energy certification of all municipal buildings and LED installations in traffic lights, historical monuments and public lighting. Solar PV has also been installed in all municipal sports facilities.
The total investment by the municipality in the Less carbon Climate Action fund is €1,900,000. This has helped to reduce the carbon footprint by 1000 tCO2/yr, reduce energy consumption by 3,000MWhr/yr and saves the municipality €375,000 per year on energy costs.
Looking to the future Ageneal has become a partner and expert in Pontoenergia. This is a Horizon 2020 innovation and research funded programme that connects investors, experts (specialists) and promoters whom want to participate in energy efficiency projects. The aim is to provide a one stop shop and accelerate the implementation of energy efficiency and energy consumption projects. The aim is to overcome the three main obstacles to public sector projects being implemented - Finance Scale and Bureaucracy.
