Photo: UNDP Moldova

51 young people from the Republic of Moldova decided to spend their summer vacation at … school. From 2 to 11 July they will discover the secrets of renewable energy at ENERGEL summer school, which takes place this year in Slobozia-Dusca village, Criuleni district and reunites pupils who participated in the Republican Competition “Renewable Energy Sources”. The seventh edition of the initiative is organised by the Moldova Energy and Biomass Project, funded by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Wind turbines made of used plastic, solar collectors made of mirrors, eco irrigation systems replaced the cell phones and other gadgets used by the youth. The participants in the summer school develop technologies to produce energy from objects which too often are just thrown away as junk. “I wish my model became a real technology in the future and helped people transform the power of the nature into green energy,” said Andrei Lupasco, pupil at High School “Constantin Stere” from Soroca town. Together with his colleagues, the young man transformed an old parabolic aerial into a device that captures solar energy and transforms it into electricity.

Mariana Mereacre from Costesti, Ialoveni, came to the summer school with her brother Maxim. Both are authors of an innovative project showing that ordinary beer and water tins can generate heat in the house thanks to solar energy. Their project looks like a stove and is designed to capture solar light and heat one room. “I like the idea of bringing together the teenagers who are passionate about eco technologies. It is a good possibility to communicate, to exchange ideas and search for common solutions to energy and environment challenges,” said the young people.

“The main purpose of the Summer Camps is to bring children from all regions of Moldova and teach them how to care about the nature and protect the environment by generating home grown solutions and pilot-testing innovative approaches. Over the past 7 years many boys and girls attended the Summer School and while enhancing their knowledge about sustainable development and discovering the power of renewable energy, they also became good friends and strong supporters of green economy and environmentally friendly production and consumption practices,” said Dafina Gercheva, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in the Republic of Moldova.

For ten days, the participants at of the summer school will live in a nature-friendly environment: they will save energy, recycle waste, teach the children and adults from Slobozia-Dusca to sort out garbage. During thematic workshops, students will build their own models of equipment that generate renewable energy and will look, together with experts invited to discussions, for ingenious solutions to environment problems faced by our country as well as other countries in the region. They will also visit biofuel factories and buildings connected to renewable energy systems.

“Energy security and a sustainable energetic future are among the key priorities on the agenda of the European Union. What is wonderful about the Energel Camp is that every year, it shows that sustainable energy is important for us and the planet, but also that sustainable energy is fun and that everybody can take part in this process of changing the way we consume energy, children having a leading role to play,” said Marco Gemmer, Deputy Head of Operations Section of the European Union Delegation to the Republic of Moldova.

ENERGEL Summer School is part of an educational initiative in renewable energy and energy efficiency launched by the Moldova Energy and Biomass Project in communities that have installed biomass heating systems. Until now, about 24,000 children learned about renewable energy and energy efficiency in schools and more than 500 took part in ENERGEL Summer School.

The Moldova Energy and Biomass Project, phase two, is a project carried out during 2015-2018, with a total budget of Euro 9.41 million provided by the European Union and is implemented by the United Nations Development Programme. It continues the first phase of the project (2011-2014), with a total budget of Euro 14.56 million offered by the European Union (Euro 14 million) and UNDP (Euro 560,000). The national partner of the Energy and Biomass Project is the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure.

The EU4Energy Initiative covers all EU support to improve energy supply, security and connectivity, as well as to promote energy efficiency and the use of renewables in the Eastern Partner countries Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. It does this by financing projects and programmes that help to reform energy markets and to reduce national energy dependence and consumption. Over the longer term, this makes energy supply more reliable, transparent and affordable, thus reducing energy poverty and energy bills for both citizens and the private sector. For more information visit: www.EU4Energy.eu