News

Iberdrola and Club de Excelencia en Sostenibilidad, with the collaboration of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, announced the winners of the second edition of Iberdrola’s International Energy Cooperation Awards at an event held at the company’s offices in Madrid.

In this new call, Trama TecnoAmbiental, was proclaimed as winner of the Enterprise category; the Instituto Nacional de Eficiencia Energética y Energías Renovables de Ecuador (INER), in the Public Administration category; and Nexus for Development, in the Not-for-Profit and Non-Governmental Organisations category.

Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Alfonso Dastis, presented the awards to the winners. He was joined by the Chairman of Iberdrola Ignacio Galán and the President of Club de Excelencia en Sostenibilidad, Ramón Paredes.

During his speech, Mr. Galán stated that “we have the ability – and I would even dare to say, responsibility – to accelerate the development of the most disadvantageous communities and guarantee them access to affordable, reliable and safe energy. To comply, in short, with the purpose of achieving the objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals, signed at the 2005 Heads of State Summit. This is a shared responsibility that without a doubt, can be better fulfilled through public-private partnerships”.

In addition, Iberdrola’s Chairman recalled his firm belief that “together we can provide the best solutions to respond to the energy, social and environmental challenges we face and achieve a more sustainable world”.

Ramón Paredes underlined the importance that both participating entities and members of Club de Excelencia en Sostenibilidad have, in relation with promoting energy universalization initiatives and the opportunity that it entails in the current context to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) set by the United Nations (UN) for the 2030 horizon.

In particular, ensuring universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services corresponds to the first target of the SDG 7 as well as the initiative behind the celebration of the second edition of this international energetic cooperation awards.

Iberdrola’s II International Energy Cooperation Awards aim to recognize the best initiatives carried out by companies, the public sector and the third sector in the field of international cooperation.

Winning Initiatives

The Jury recognized in the Enterprise category the work of Trama TecnoAmbiental, whose “Rural electrification through hybrid solar microgrids in remote islands of Ghana” project executed the engineering, construction and operation of five microgrids with hybrid photovoltaic generation in four Ghanaian towns under the GEDAP Project (Ghana Energy Development and Access Project).

The fraction of hybrid renewable energy is 100%, with a total installed capacity of 189 kilowatts peak (kWp). Its vision is to act globally for the development of microgrids based on renewable energies aiming to contribute to the access to electricity in rural and isolated areas. Consequently, being able to contribute to the reduction of poverty and the protection of the environment, allowing to promote education and improve other basic services such as health.

The winner of the Public Administration category was INER from Ecuador for their Study of the viability of bioethanol production from the enzymatic hydrolysis of the seed shell of Jatropha Curcas known as physic nut. The use of this biofuel not only contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gases, but also can become a sustainable source of income for farmers in the area.

Nexus for Development has been the third award-winning entity as a non-profit organization for their Pioneer Facility project, which provides technical assistance and innovative financial solutions for project developers and social enterprises with the creation of a specific impact investment fund – Pioneer Facility – aiming to create access to clean energy in Southeast Asia.

This project has already raised 2,2 million dollars of investment, demonstrating how it has acted as a lever for change for sustainable growth and sustainable energy. Particularly, thanks to its unique combination of financing, cooperation from local actors and the monitorization of the impact.

About Iberdrola

Iberdrola is a world leader in wind energy and one of the largest electric companies in the world with a recognized commitment to sustainable development. The company is aware of the crucial role it can play regarding the universalization of essential services, particularly, those linked to energy in regions where a significant part of the population still does not have access to modern forms of energy.

Iberdrola has already aligned its strategy with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) established by the United Nations (UN) in 2015. Both SDG 7 and 13, “Affordable and clean energy” and “Climate Action” are the main areas at which Iberdrola focuses its efforts, without diminishing the direct and indirect contribution to the rest of the objectives.

The 'Electricity for all' program is Iberdrola's response to the call made by the international community to extend universal access to modern forms of energy, with environmentally sustainable, economically acceptable and socially inclusive models. Its purpose is to ensure access to electricity in emerging and developing countries. This ambitious initiative focuses on carrying out sustainable electrification actions, for which the company will take advantage of its technical, logistical, organizational and financial capacity.

About Club de Excelencia en Sostenibilidad

Club de Excelencia en Sostenibilidad is a business association formed by a group of major corporations that are committed to achieving sustainable development in economic, social and environmental terms. It is the leading forum in Spain for publishing and promoting responsible practices. The members of Club de Excelencia en Sostenibilidad are: ABB Spain, Adecco Spain, AENA, Grupo Antolín, BASF Spain, BSH Electrodomésticos Spain, CEMEX Spain, Endesa, FCC, Mahou San Miguel, Iberdrola, ISS Facility Services, Orange Spain, Red Eléctrica de España, Renault Spain, Saint-Gobain Placo, SEAT and Vodafone Spain.