The interest in promoting renewable energy and sustainability projects has taken on a fundamental role in the global energy landscape, and Ecuador is no exception. In this context, the Ecuadorian Green Energy Society (SEEV) seeks to obtain legal status this year and become a key player in disseminating and promoting these practices in the country, with the goal of moving towards a cleaner and more sustainable future. In conversations with Energía Estratégica, Johanna Sánchez , president of the organization, shares her vision on the work they are doing to promote clean energy in Ecuador . " We have high expectations because we see great potential to promote sustainable development in Ecuador ," she says.
“In line with the country’s diversity, it’s necessary to take advantage of all the resources it has and provide benefits to the entire society,” she explains. She adds, “We see that the Ecuadorian renewable energy sector talks a lot about solar and wind power but little about green hydrogen and the use of biomass. Therefore, we have a multidisciplinary team working on this to ensure that these technologies are not overlooked.” According to the expert, there is a large amount of unused biomass that could be used to produce energy for various economic sectors .
In this regard, they are studying the costs based on the biomass characterization to determine the most suitable treatment process. "We have a roadmap for biomass utilization. Due to the complexity of its collection, it is advisable to establish production facilities near the crops."
The idea is to harness energy from nearby sites where it is more concentrated and avoid the costs associated with transportation , she points out. Sánchez explains that they have also developed reports that calculate the feasibility of green hydrogen production through pilot projects at various obsolete hydroelectric plants. "The H2 Association is growing rapidly and is working to improve its roadmap. Ecuador is far behind in hydrogen development, but we are on the right track. Therefore, with the contributions of our experts, we seek to help design plants of this kind in Ecuador," she argues. According to the specialist, many valuable ideas from universities "are lost in theses" and fail to achieve the impact they deserve.
To avoid this, SEEV set out to identify and disseminate successful projects and create synergies across the entire clean energy chain. "We seek to coordinate the work of academia with the public and private sectors so that laboratory projects can become pilot projects and continue to scale up ."
"The goal is to help Ecuador achieve its sustainable energy objectives," he states. It's worth noting that the Ecuadorian Green Energy Society has been working since December 2023 to obtain legal status.
At this time, they are awaiting feedback from the Ministry of Environment to finalize the partnership and hope to achieve this this year.