UNDP Croatia in association with Energy Cooperative Kaštela is appealing for individuals and businesses around the world to become involved with its crowdfunding project launched on the cooperative’s Indiegogo project page.
The plan is to install a solar power plant on the roof of the Ostrog primary school in Kastel Luksic, Croatia thereby making it the first energy independent school in the country. Once in place, the solar array will help the school to generate its own energy and receive extra income which will then be used to finance additional measures for reducing energy consumption. It will also fund the acquisition of teaching aids and other equipment in order to provide an enhanced learning experience for the children.
UNDP Croatia and Energy Cooperative of Kaštela launched the energy independence project at the school by conducting an energy audit to determine the measures that will be most effective in leading the school towards energy independence. Based on this the school chose to replace the existing lighting system with energy efficient lighting and to implement a photovoltaic (PV) system. Due to the favorable geographic location and a lot of sun hours, implementing this PV system will raise the level of school’s energy autonomy.
Recent changes in Croatia’s Feed-in Tariff system, which secured a specific 2 MW quota for the construction of solar power plants on buildings owned by local and county governments, was another factor in the selection of a solar PV array. The school’s geographical location and the position of its roof also meant that the school was an ideal site for a solar energy system.
The target figure is a minimum of 10.000 US dollars (or about 55.000 HRK), which is enough for the entire power plant project based on turnkey. The installed capacity will depend on the total amount of donated funds and we will also gather a portion of the funds through donations in the local community. The size of the solar power plant will depend on the money collected. If more is gathered than planned, the remaining funds will be invested in the replacement of lighting in one or more classrooms and possibly the entire school. This is an energy efficiency measure which will bring the largest and quickest cost-effective electricity savings.
The school will receive a total of $2.5 received for every dollar donated of which $1.5 will be provided by UNDP. A special limited edition perk is available for donors providing $33 or more in the form of one of twenty special edition drawings produced by the children. This offer is available until January 6th 2014 or until all the drawings have been claimed.
The school is itself a member of the energy cooperative which wants to encourage people in the community to start using renewable energy sources. Crowdfunding was chosen as the main funding method because energy cooperatives do not have the initial funds necessary to obtain specific project documentation. Ultimately the school is hoping to become a model for other schools in Croatia aiming to achieve energy independence.
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