ALER’s Executive Director participated in the program “Bem Vindos” of RTP Africa
Isabel Cancela de Abreu, ALER’s Executive Director, participated in the morning program "Bem-vindos" of RTP Africa, in which she spoke of her career path, ALER’s creation and explained the reasons that lead to the need of the development of renewable energies in African countries justified "by the enormous impact that can create in people's lives", but essentially "because energy brings development," explained.
"The New Regulation for energy access in off-grid areas in Mozambique”, event organised by ALER and AMER, was the motto for this interview, in which it was explained the need for regulation on renewable energies, consequently, to focus on the development and investment in this area. “The beauty of renewables, particularly solar energy, is that installation is very simple. In this sense, it is common to train local technicians and, nowadays, one thing that is being done a lot is trying to train women to increase gender inclusion and their greater participation in the sector”, said ALER’s Executive Director, at a time when ALER is developing the "Women Sustainable Energy Program".
The importance of ALER's role was highlighted by Isabel Cancela de Abreu as an essencial aspect to promote the dynamization and development of this sector in Portuguese-speaking African countries. “At ALER, we are project facilitators. We do not implement projects directly, we have our associates, companies, governments, and all kinds of stake holders. We leverage projects, private sector businesses to attract investment and funding for these areas, and we act as interlocutors, for example between the public sector and the private sector.”
It was in this context that it was explained the importance of the webinar The new regulation for access to off-grid energy in Mozambique. “Just to give an idea of the importance of this regulation, in Mozambique, at this moment, only 38% of the population has access to electricity. This regulation is so important that it has to ensure that 30% of the population can have access to electricity with these projects, from off-grid systems, homemade solar systems or mini-grids”.
Regarding future projects, Isabel Cancela de Abreu announced the upcoming events of ALER, namely the participation of ALER in the III edition of the International Fair of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (FIEREE), the International Conference and Trade Mission on Renewable Energy in Angola at July 5th and 6th, the International Conference on Sustainable Energy in São Tomé and Príncipe, taking place July 20th and 21st, and later, in November, the Business Conference in Mozambique.
Watch the interview here, starting from the minute 11:45.