Solar Festival – Renewable Energy Awareness for Microproduction and Building Integration

Abstract

In a time were climate changes and its consequences to the

environment appear to be more and more evident, it is vital that

measures are taken to stop and reverse these changes.

By using renewable energy sources, one can contribute to the

reduction of greenhouse gases emissions, namely by installing

renewable energy production systems at home and private or

public buildings. Nowadays, this is possible without changing

the building structure, being simple to integrate systems in old

buildings. This is possible thanks to solar photovoltaic panels

that can be installed on the roof of the building, but also on the

walls, balconies, and so on, and even in windows, using

translucent panels.

The objective of this paper is to present an awareness rise action

to the renewable energy production sources and its building

integration, turned towards the Portuguese young student

community, as well as to show in practice how using the

microproduction legal frame the energy produced by an energy

renewable production system installed in home can be sold to

the electric grid. This awareness action was realized through the

participation of Net Plan - Telecommunications and Energy, SA,

in the Solar Festival that occurred on May 2009 at the Electricity

Museum, in Lisbon, Portugal.