Paraguay is preparing a calculation tool that will enable SMEs to carry out self-diagnoses of energy consumption and identify possible savings and
emissions reduction points in their industrial processes.
Paraguay's National Energy Policy 2016-2040, currently being implemented by the Vice-Ministry of Mines and Energy of the Ministry of Public Works and Communications, has among its objectives the improvement of energy efficiency levels with sustainability criteria. Consistent with this policy, the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MADES) is in the process of implementing the National Climate Change Policy, which aims to promote the implementation of measures aligned with the commitments assumed as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), derived from the mandates of international conventions aimed at sustainability.
Against this background, the Vice-Ministry of Mines and Energy, through the Directorate of Alternative Energies and MADES, through the National Directorate of Climate Change (DNCC), with the technical and financial support of the Euroclima+ Programme, have been working on the design and implementation of the action Promotion of the Efficient Use of Biomass in Paraguay.
The project has two main lines of action: the first focuses on the development of a "Calculation Tool" to estimate energy consumption in agroindustrial facilities; and the second is a programme to disseminate energy efficiency and its benefits for the productive sector.
The structuring of the "Calculation Tool" is carried out through a consultative mechanism in which technicians from the Directorate of Alternative Energies and the National Directorate of Climate Change work with representatives of SMEs that use biomass as the main fuel in their production processes (yerba mate dryers, grain dryers, oil mills, ceramics, and establishments for raising and fattening chickens).
The "Calculation Tool" will allow self-diagnoses of energy consumption, identification of high consumption points and estimates of energy consumption reduction during production processes, as well as the economic and environmental benefits of implementing energy efficiency measures. An additional contribution of this tool will be the possibility of quantifying the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in production processes.
The calculator will be available in digital format and will be easy to use, so that SMEs and interested parties from other sectors will be able to perform the simulations free of charge with technical support from personnel of the Vice-Ministry of Mines and Energy trained for this purpose.
Under the framework of Technical Cooperation, the team is working on the design and implementation of a national dissemination campaign focused on the agroindustrial sector. The objective of this campaign is to install in the productive sector the concept of energy efficiency and its benefits in economic, social, and environmental aspects.
About EUROCLIMA+
EUROCLIMA+ is a programme funded by the European Union to promote environmentally sustainable and climate-resilient development in 18 Latin American countries, particularly for the benefit of the most vulnerable populations. The Programme is implemented under the synergistic work of seven agencies: the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), the French Development Agency (AFD), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), Expertise France (EF), the International and Ibero-America Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP), and UN Environment.