To consolidate the partnership launched earlier this month between ICLEI South America and the Brazilian Photovoltaic Solar Energy Association (ABSOLAR), the Call for Sponsorship of the Energy Transition Program in Cities: Solar Public Buildings was released this Thursday, the 12th. The program's main objective is to enable the energy transition in cities through the use of photovoltaic technology.

Through technical support, local governments will be guided in developing financially viable projects aimed at raising funds for the implementation of solar systems.

The Call for Sponsorship is part of the first phase of the program and is open to interested companies until June 12th. The call offers two sponsorship amounts: R$ 60,000 or R$ 20,000. In return, sponsors will have their brands promoted alongside the Program's promotional activities, can participate in other sustainability initiatives of partner organizations, contribute to renewable energy generation, and achieve ESG goals.

➡️ Check here for all the details of the Notice.

Following the deadline for the Call for Sponsors, a call for proposals will be opened to select the cities included in the Energy Transition in Cities Program: Solar Public Buildings. The selected local governments will have the opportunity to exchange experiences and learn the methodology for developing technically robust and financially viable projects, enabling them to apply these methods to their local context and obtain funding for their photovoltaic solar energy projects. In this phase, the technical teams from ICLEI, ABSOLAR, and strategic partners will provide content to facilitate interactions and offer bilateral support to up to 10 selected municipalities. The program will last six months and is expected to be implemented starting in July.

Regarding the launch of the partnership

“"Successful partnerships for the energy transition"”

The announcement of the partnership established between ICLEI and ABSOLAR took place via live stream on April 13th on the ICLEI South America YouTube channel (Watch hereParticipants included the Executive Secretary of ICLEI South America, Rodrigo Perpétuo; the Executive President of ABSOLAR, Rodrigo Lopes Sauaia; the Executive Manager of Institutional Relations and Sustainability at MRV, José Luis Esteves Fonseca, an ICLEI partner company in 2022 that supports the Energy Transition Program in Cities; the Municipal Secretary of the Environment of Recife and General Coordinator of the CB27 Forum, Carlos Ribeiro; the Director of Resilience of the Municipal Secretariat of the Environment and Sustainable Development (Secis) of the City of Salvador, Ivan Euler Paiva; the Regional Technical Manager of ICLEI, Leta Vieira; and the Low Carbon Advisor, Raísa Soares, who also moderated the meeting.

Since 2012, solar energy has prevented the emission of more than 20.8 million tons of greenhouse gases (GHG) in Brazil. "It's a path of no return," pointed out the manager of MRV, the first company to participate in the ICLEI South America Annual Partnership Program. According to Fonseca, cities need to manage their own resources. With this in mind, the construction company already has two solar power plants in operation, supplying enough energy for 100% of its construction sites and offices located in Minas Gerais and Bahia.

A similar situation occurred at the Women's Hospital in Recife, which, through the ICLEI's Urban LEDs II project, implemented a solar energy system with funding from the Pernambuco Energy Company. “In addition to saving almost R$250,000 per month, we should be proud to be part of this transition to clean energy. Everyone wins,” highlighted Ribeiro, Recife's Secretary of the Environment. The initiative was so successful that Ribeiro announced that the City Hall plans to replicate the photovoltaic systems in other public buildings in the city.

To further expand and democratize solar energy in Brazil, it is necessary to facilitate access to credit with viable and financeable projects. This is one of the recommendations of ABSOLAR, according to the entity's executive president, who supports the use of incentives for individuals and companies that adopt the technology. “At the municipal level, one of our pillars is supporting the development of projects, programs, and public policies that expand the use of solar energy in public buildings, as well as for society, including measures such as reducing the ISS (Service Tax) for companies in the solar sector and reducing the IPTU (Property Tax) for properties that generate their own solar electricity,” explained Sauaia. “To contribute to this process, encouraging citizens and businesses, the public sector needs to lead by example. Furthermore, the adoption of photovoltaic systems in public buildings reduces electricity costs, freeing up government budgets to invest in education, health, and public safety,” emphasized Sauaia.

“Facilitating and encouraging this energy transition is the role of ICLEI, which has been working in this direction with important results throughout the country. This partnership is proof of that and takes the energy transition to another level, since we are promoting this change and, at the same time, helping with the viability of projects and resources,” concluded Perpétuo.

Other experiences

ICLEI South America has been working with cities in its network on low-carbon development since 2013, this being one of the organization's global pillars of action. The experience gained from implementing pilot projects and materializing plans, policies, and actions with cities forms the basis for the methodology applied in the Energy Transition in Cities Program: Solar Public Buildings.

In this sense, the organization has been active in various segments and promotes initiatives throughout South America with innovative projects that serve as models to be replicated.

LEDs Lab

O Urban LEDs II This was an initiative funded by the European Commission and implemented by ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, in partnership with UN-Habitat, whose main objective was to promote low-emission urban development strategies, aiming to contribute to addressing the climate crisis. In the second phase of the project, the LEDs Lab was created with the proposal to support the development of cities' capacities in the preparation of fundable projects, through a systematized methodology in Guide to Developing Fundable Projects and the provision of training and advisory services to the selected cities. In its first edition, Recife and Belo Horizonte (Brazil), and Envigado and Tópaga (Colombia) participated.

TAP Felicity

O Transformative Actions Program, The Climate Action Programme (TAP), also known as TAP, is a program created within the scope of the FELICITY project, with the aim of connecting local climate-related projects with key stakeholders responsible for enabling their implementation, such as investors and project preparation facilities (PFFs). Project mobilization occurs annually through calls for proposals. More than 66 projects have already been selected (with a required funding of approximately €2.5 billion), of which 45 have already been connected with potential partners willing to implement them.

Action Fund Brazil

O Action Fund Brazil This is a fund for local climate action, the result of a partnership between Google.org and ICLEI. In its first edition, it selected the cities of Curitiba (PR) and Porto Alegre (RS) to receive projects led by non-governmental organizations and aligned with their purposes and climate instruments. Using the Google Environmental Insights Explorer tool, the four selected organizations proposed to use the data provided by the platform to develop technical studies and projects to mitigate climate change.

In the area of renewable energy and energy efficiency, a proof-of-concept application of photovoltaic energy and the installation of biodigesters was implemented in two public schools in the vulnerable Morro da Cruz area of Porto Alegre, through the Morro da Cruz Circular project. In Curitiba, through the SOLAR project, the Community Center of the equally vulnerable 29 de Março community received two photovoltaic systems and a solar heating system that powers computers, showers, and a local LED lighting network.

Project 100% Renewables

The Project 100% Renewables This is a global ICLEI project, initiated in 2019 and scheduled to end in 2023. In South America, it supports the Argentinian cities of Avellaneda, La Plata, and Rosario in building a roadmap for the energy transition, prioritizing actions to achieve scenarios for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 and 2050. The actions prioritize leveraging the local potential of renewable energy resources for decentralized generation.

Funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), the project aims to contribute to the achievement of national climate and energy objectives through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and other goals, such as improving energy security and efficiency and creating jobs, while also considering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the UN.

About ICLEI

ICLEI was founded in 1990 by 200 local governments from 43 countries, who met at the first World Congress of Local Governments for a Sustainable Future at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Operations began in 1991 at the World Secretariat in Toronto, Canada. In Latin America, it has been active since 1994. In 2011, the current Secretariat for South America was established in São Paulo, Brazil. Currently, the Network has more than 2,500 local and regional governments committed to sustainable urban development worldwide. Active in more than 130 countries, it influences sustainability policies and drives local action for low-carbon, nature-based, equitable, resilient, and circular development.

About ABSOLAR

Founded in 2013, the Brazilian Photovoltaic Solar Energy Association (ABSOLAR) brings together companies and professionals from the entire photovoltaic solar energy production chain operating in Brazil, in both distributed and centralized generation areas. ABSOLAR coordinates, represents, and defends the development of the photovoltaic solar energy sector and market in Brazil, promoting and disseminating the use of this clean, renewable, and sustainable energy in the country and representing the Brazilian photovoltaic sector internationally.

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