Energy Self Supply in Rural Communities

RReessuulltt oorriieenntteedd rreeppoorrtt

0

TABLE of CONTENTS

Disclaimer......................................................................................................................... 1 Part 1: Introduction to the Guide. ..................................................................................... 2

1.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 3 1.2 Acknowledgements ...................................................................................... 4 1.3 Executive Summary...................................................................................... 5 1.4 Objectives of the guide ................................................................................. 6 1.5 What is an Energy Self Supply Co-operative? ............................................. 7

Part 2: Guidelines on establishing a Co-operative ......................................................... 10

2.1 Involvement of Potential Co-operative Promoters/ Facilitators ................. 11 2.2 Identify the locally available Renewable Energy Resources...................... 14 2.3 Role of Steering committee in forming Co-operative ................................ 15 2.4 Formation of the Co-operative as Legal Entity. ......................................... 16 2.5 Recruit Members to the Co-operative ........................................................ 17 2.6 Election of a Board to Manage the Co-operative. ...................................... 18 2.7 Preparation of Business Plan. ..................................................................... 18 2.8 Summary flow chart for development of Energy self supply Co-operative19

Part 3: Renewable Energy Technologies........................................................................ 20

3.1 Biomass ...................................................................................................... 21 3.1.1 Solid Biomass ..................................................................................... 21 3.1.2 Liquid Bio fuels .................................................................................. 22 3.1.3 Anaerobic Digestion........................................................................... 22

3.2 Solar Energy ............................................................................................... 23 3.3 Wind Energy............................................................................................... 24 3.4 Geothermal Energy..................................................................................... 25

Part 4: ENSRC Project Case Studies.............................................................................. 26

4.1 Waterford Renewable Energy Co-operative - Ireland................................ 27 4.2 Agry Co-Operative Bulgaria ...................................................................... 31 4.3 The Sustainable Energy Co-operative - Wales........................................... 33 4.4 Co-operative Portugal................................................................................. 35

0

Disclaimer

Whilst Waterford County Council, Carmarthenshire County Council, Ameseixal -Agencia Municipal de Energia do Seixal, Black Sea Regional Agency for Energy Management (BSRAEM) and Brian P. Connor and Associates Ltd, have taken reasonable steps to ensure that the information contained within this guide is correct, you should be aware that it may be incomplete, inaccurate or has become out of date since publication. Accordingly Waterford County Council, Carmarthenshire County Council, Ameseixal, BSRAEM, Brian P. Connor and Associates Ltd and IEE makes no warranties or representations of any kind as to the content of this document or its accuracy and to the maximum extent permitted by law, accept no liability whatsoever for the same including, without limit, for direct, indirect or consequential loss, business interruption, loss of profits, production, contracts, goodwill, or anticipated savings. Any person making use of this document does so at their own risk and it is recommended that they seek professional advice from their own advisors where appropriate.

None of the above mentioned person shall be liable (whether in contract, tort, (including negligence) or breach of statutory duty or otherwise) for any loss or damage suffered as a result of any use of the contents of this document including direct loss, business interruption, loss of production, profits, contacts, goodwill or anticipated savings, loss arising from third party claims or any indirect or consequential loss, whether or not foreseeable.

1

Part 1

2

1.1 Introduction

ENSRC Project:

The Energy Self-Supply in Rural Communities (ENSRC) project aims to produce a guide to assist those responsible for rural development to encourage rural communities in establishing energy self supply co-operatives. The guide will be based on the practical experience of the ENSRC partners in setting up self supply energy co-operatives in Ireland, Wales (UK), Portugal and Bulgaria and assisting in the operation of these co-operatives for the first year after their operation. This project is supported by the Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE) programme.

Energy Self Supply Co-operatives aim to support farmers and rural dwellers in developing locally available sustainable energies for electricity generation, heat production and in producing sustainable fuels and in the short term developing a self supply in energy and then in the longer term developing a market for renewable energy.

The partners

The co-ordinator of the project:

Ireland: Waterford County Council (Wat. Co. Co.) in association with Waterford Energy Bureau

The co-beneficiaries:

Wales (United Kingdom): Carmarthenshire County Council in association with the Carmarthenshire Energy Agency.

Portugal: Agencia Municipal de Energia do Seixal (AMESEIXAL).

Ireland: Brian P Connor and Associates Ltd (BPC)

Bulgaria: Black Sea Regional Agency for Energy Management (BSRAEM).

The Results of the Project

The following Guide is one of the main results of the Project along with the establishment of a co-operative by each of the partners in their own Region in Ireland, Bulgaria, Wales (UK) and Portugal.

3

1.2 Acknowledgements Waterford County Council acknowledges the valuable contribution towards the development of this guide from the key partners:

• Carmarthenshire Energy Agency / Carmarthenshire County Council

• Ameseixal – Agencia Municipal de Energia do Seixal

• Black Sea Regional Agency for Energy Management (BSRAEM)

• Brian P. Connor and Associates Ltd

For the development and production of this guide we wish to express gratitude to Liam Fleming, Julien Tisserand and Laïla Cherif of Waterford Energy Bureau, Guto Owen of Carmarthenshire Energy Agency, Philippe Bollinger of Ameseixal, Mariana Kancheva Ivanova and Todor Toney of BSRAEM and Brian Connor of Brian P. Connor and Associates Ltd.

4

1.3 Executive Summary Co-operatives as legal entities have been established in some countries of the EU for over 100 years. Co-operatives have a long and successful history of operation particularly in Ireland, Denmark, Portugal, UK and Bulgaria. These co-operatives work in a number of different fields of activities including agriculture, banking, retailing and energy. Examples of Energy Co-operative are the Windmill Guilds in Denmark to produce electricity and Rural Biomass Co-operatives in Austria to produce heat for district heating.

This guide is part of the IEE funded project “Energy Self Supply in Rural Communities”, the balance of the funding being provided by the project partners. Apart from producing the guide each of the partners established a Self Supply Energy Co-operative in their own areas and provided support to the co-operatives during their first year of operation.

In Ireland, UK, Portugal and Bulgaria co-operatives are a common type of enterprise structure and they have their own legal structure and governing body and are treated in a different manner from private limited companies. This is due to the fact that private companies have as their main objective to make profits for their shareholders while co-operatives have a wider social agenda and are run for the benefit of their members.

Prior to the formation of the co-operatives in each of the project partner’s areas they established a common plan of action. This involved the following:

• Evaluation of the locally available renewable energies in each partners area.

• Investigation of the Barriers and Incentives to the development of these energies.

• Review of the legal situation in each country regarding the establishment of co-operatives

• Promotion of the concept of forming an energy self – supply co-operative to the rural communities in their local area.

The promotion of the concept of an energy self supply co-operative can be carried by holding meetings with potential members in the agricultural communities and outlining to them the benefits of such a co-operative. The views of the attendees at these meetings can be obtained and those who were interested in being involved can be asked to elect a committee from amongst themselves to form the co-operative. This committee, with assistance from the project partners, will proceed to establish a co-operative as a legal entity.

Each co-operative will recruit members and elect a management board from amongst the members and proceed to commence business as an energy self supply co-operative with the assistance of the local interested partners.

5

1.4 Objectives of the guide The objectives of the Guide are to encourage farmers, farmer groups, Local Government, Rural Development Agencies and Developers to form rural based Energy Self Supply Co-operatives and to demonstrate how this can be achieved based on the practical experience that the Project Partners obtained in establishing such co-operatives in their own region. The co-operatives will assist in driving forward the development of local energy sources by: • Ensuring security of energy supply to the co-operative members and the local area • Providing alternative farm enterprises for the farmers in the area. • Improve the local economy by maintaining the existing energy spend within the

community • Secure existing employment in the area and provide new employment in the

energy industry

The key elements of the process of forming a co-operative are shown below:

1. Identification of a Team Leader. The Team Leader may be a Local Government Agency, Local NGO involved in rural development or a farmer or group of farmers who may wish to establish energy co-operative with his/their neighbours.

2. Evaluate the Pros and Cons to the formation of an Energy Co-operative.

3. Define the locally available renewable energy resources: what renewable energy resources can be economically developed?

4. Promote the concept of the co-operative in the locality, Public Meetings etc.

5. Elect a Steering Group to establish the proposed co-operative on a legal basis.

6. Form the co-operative as a legal entity.

7. Recruit members to the co-operative.

8. Elect a board to manage the co-operative.

The co-operative will assist the Local Region in achieving the following Legal Requirements relating to Kyoto Protocol, Greenhouse Gases Emissions and Reduction of Farm Waste:

• Achieving the Kyoto targets in reducing greenhouse gas emissions • Help the local Area to conform to EU directives on the use of renewable energies. • Assist in achieving National targets on the use of renewable energies. • Implementation of Local Authority policies on the use of renewable energies. • Reaching the targets of the National and Local Waste Management Strategies at

the individual farm level.

6

1.5 What is an Energy Self Supply Co-operative?

What is a co-operative? A co-operative is internationally defines as: “an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise” Co-operatives are applicable in many sectors: building, banking, transport, agriculture etc.

Co-operatives have common points: they are based on the values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity. In simple word, a co-operative is a business association owned by the people who use its services; in our case the co-operative relate to energy production from Renewable Energy in order to make the members more independent in their energy uses (heating, fuel and electricity), reduce locally the expenditures relating to energy and create new sources of income for members of the Co-operative.

What are the aim and the benefits of an energy self supply co-operative?

◘ Energy self-supply co-operatives aim to promote and facilitate locally the development and use of renewable energy for the benefit of the co-operative members. The main purpose of the co-operative includes the following targets:

• To develop locally available renewable energy Resources by and for the co-operative members.

• To utilise secure local energy sources and lessen dependency on energy imports.

• To reduce the expenditure on energy (electricity and heating) sourced from outside the county/area and maintain the expenditure within the local community.

◘ Legal Definition of a Co-operative

• A Co-op is set up to meet mutual needs of the members whereas a PLC exists to make a profit from being able to satisfy a need that exists.

• A Co-op belongs to its members; a PLC belongs to its shareholders/ investors. • A Co-op is run democratically on the basis of one member, one vote. • In a PLC the number of shares owned an individual determines his/her votes. • Co-op shares their profits with their members (the dividend) whereas PLC

returns profits to the holders of their shares. • Shares that members have in a Co-op are of fixed value. Shares in a PLC

fluctuate in value depending on the market for the shares. • Co-op are constituted under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act or

similar legislation whereas PLC are constituted under Company Law

7

◘ Beneficiaries of the Co-operative

The benefits of the co-operative can profit a wide range of people who are members of the co-operative. Co-operatives can be established that are concerned with specific Renewable Energy Technologies or a wide range of RE technologies. For example in a co-operative specialising in using biomass as an energy source the following parties would benefit:

End user of biomass:

The end users of biomass be it blocks, chips or pellets, will have the following benefits.

• Contracted supply of blocks/ chips / pellets for a fixed term at an attractive price.

• Assistance in obtaining grant aid for purchasing of boilers. • Access to independent expert advice when purchasing boilers. • Access to trained installers recommended by the Co-operative. • Access to trained maintenance Engineers. • Opportunity to be involved in the Co-operatives activities by being a member

of the Co-operative. Grower of biomass:

• Direct sales to consumer i.e. Co-operative members who have biomass boilers • Assistance in obtaining grants for growing biomass and equipment to harvest

it. • Opportunity to co-operate with other growers to share equipment and

expertise. • Opportunity to attend Training Courses and Seminars organised by the Co-

operative. • Opportunity to be involved in Co-operatives activities by being a member of

the Co-operative. Processor of biomass:

• Direct access to potential customers, i.e. Co-operative members who are

growers of biomass. • Opportunity to co-operate with other processors to share expertise and

equipment. • Assistance in obtaining grant aid for new equipment. • Access to independent technical expertise. • Opportunity to attend Training Courses and Seminars organised by the Co-

operative. • Opportunity to be involved in Co-operatives activities by being a member of

the Co-operative.

8

Equipment installers and Maintenance Engineers:

• Direct access to potential customer through Co-operative • Access to Training Courses and Seminars organised by Co-operative • Access to independent technical expertise • Co-operative accreditation • Opportunity to be involved in Co-operatives activities by being a member of

the Co-operatives. In summary, the energy self supply co-operative will benefit to the members by:

• Initially establishing a supply chain for biomass within the county/region. • Will provide a market for the growers. • A secure local supply of fuel for the end users. • Installers of equipment will also benefit from being part of an organised

supply chain and increasing their number of clients. • Access to a network of persons with business and technical expertise in

renewable energy technologies. • Security of energy supply to co-operative members. • Access to impartial information on the latest developments in these

technologies. • Access to training courses on these technologies (access to free manuals on

renewable energy technologies). • Provide an alternative farm income to the farmers

How does the co-operative operate? From reviewing of the European background in energy Co-operatives, we can outline the activities of a typical energy self supply co-operative;

• Co-operatives have long-term aims and can therefore invest in energy production plant, which gives a long-term yield.

• They are formed to look after their members, their needs and the local market.

• Apart from developing renewable energy they can, at the same time implement local actions as detailed in their National Climate Change Strategy.

• To date CHP, district heating, biofuel production (liquid and solid) and wind power generation have been delivered using a range of co-operative structures in Europe.

• The Co-operatives are able to manage risks and have the potential to operate in range of co-operative structures.

• The co-operative movement cover business actions in many sectors and this will give new projects access to support and expertise.

• Fundamentally the co-operative becomes a communication tool to share knowledge between the partners and the other co-operatives.

• Farmer members, with access to significant resources could benefit through diversification into energy production, crop management, various use of crops etc.

9

Part 2: Guidelines on establishing a Co-operative

10

2.1 Involvement of Potential Co-operative Promoters/ Facilitators

The first step in developing an energy self supply co-operative is to identify your target audience. In rural areas this is usually the local farmers as they not only live in the area but are also employed in the area and would have a commitment to and knowledge of the area. More importantly they probably own the land where renewable energy resources can be developed. Many farmers are members of farmer organisation and in some places are members of Agricultural co-operatives where such bodies exist and are used to the concept of forming co-operative.

Initial Meeting

The initial public meeting to promote the concept of the co-operative and obtain the interest of the farmers and other rural dwellers is the first step in establishing the co-operative. Initially the local farmer organisations should be contacted and informed about the proposed cooperative and their support obtained. These organisations may assist in informing their members about the initial meeting and/or provide a list of their members who could be invited to the meeting. The meeting can also be advertised in the local papers or local radio.

The meeting should be held at a convenient location for the farmers and at a convenient time for them i.e., when their day’s work is completed. Consideration should be given as to the content of the meeting. There is an educational content to this meeting and the meeting should cover the following topics:

• Locally available renewable energies

• Possible legal structures in particular in countries where Co-operatives are not an existing type of legal structure.

• Grants and incentives available for the development of renewable energies.

• If one of the local landowner already has a renewable energy facility in operation, ask him/her to give a talk about his/her experience in operating it.

During this meeting it is essential to obtain a feed back from the audience - so allow plenty of time for discussion. Also distribute a form to obtain the following information from those attending the meeting:

• Names, Address and phone numbers or those present

• Their interest in being involved in a co-operative

• The type of interest that they have e.g. shareholder, customer, developer of a renewable energy source etc.

• Type of renewable energy that would be interested in developing or purchasing

These forms should be collected and evaluated after the meeting to see what the audience’s main interests are

11

Follow up Meeting.

The follow up meeting should be held some 2 to 4 weeks after the initial meeting. At this time the level of interest of the farmers will be known and also the types of renewable energies in which they are interested in developing or using. At this second meeting the following should be discussed:

• A more detailed description of the main renewable energies that an interest was shown in at the pervious meeting.

• Discussion of the various types of legal entities that the co-operative could take.

• Election of people to form the Steering Committee.

• Arranging of the time and place of first meeting of the Steering Committee.

Pros and Cons to Formation of Energy Co-operative

The advantages and disadvantages of the formation of a rural self – supply energy co-operative should be evaluated and explained to the rural communities who could be involved in the formation of such a co-operative.

The main advantages are as follows:

• The members of the co-operative will work together and support each other in forwarding the aims of the co-operative to their common benefit.

• All members of the co-operative are equal- one member one vote irrespective of how much each member has invested in buying shares in the co-operative.

• To advantages to the co-operative members who have renewable energy resources is that by pooling these resources they can be part of a larger group and get better prices for the energy they produce.

• Members of the co-operative can share expertise and experience as to how to develop and market the renewable energy.

• Production costs can be reduced by working together and availing of economy of scale

• By developing local energy sources the co-operative members will have security of supply and cheaper energy.

• The community with a local energy co-operative will be richer as the money spent on energy will be spent within the community and add to the wealth of the community.

The disadvantages of an energy self supply co-operative are: • The cooperative will have to find the finance to set up and distribute the

energy that they produce. These costs will be considerable.

• The co-operative will be responsible for maintaining the energy supply that they produce.

• Initially the members will have to run the co-operative themselves as well as their present employment until such time as they are generating sufficient income to employ people to manage the day-to-day operation of the co-operative.

12

Summary flow chart for first step in developing an energy self supply co-operative

Project Facilitator

Identify target

audience

Initial Meeting

Locally available energies

Outline of legal

structures

Grants & incentives available

Follow up Meeting

Detailed description of the renewable energy

and technology

Election of the steering

committee

Discussion legal entities

Arranging first meeting of the

steering committee

Market Potential

13

2.2 Identify the locally available Renewable Energy Resources

The steering committee should evaluate the locally available renewable resources and the present and potential market for the renewable energy with the assistance of the project partners. They must.

• Select the most suitable renewable energy to develop.

• Carry out a feasibility study of the locally available resources of this renewable energy and the current and future demand for it.

• Produce a development plan for the co-operative for this renewable energy.

The development plan should look at the ownership of the renewable energy resource and in particular how much of this resource is owned by co-operative members. Other owners of the resource in the area, who are not co-operative members, should also be identified. The current and potential use of the resource should be obtained and the balance between the resource and its use (both current and potential) be evaluated so that the scale of the project can be identified. This will impact on its economic viability.

14

2.3 Role of Steering committee in forming Co-operative The election of a steering committee by the members of the public who have expressed an interest in the formation of an energy self – supply co-operative at the public meetings is an important step in establishing the co-operative. This places the responsibility on establishing the committee on the future members rather than as in this case the project partners. It also makes it a community project driven by local citizens in the community rather than something imposed on them.

The main responsibility of the steering group will be as follows:

• Meeting with the national body that regulates co-operatives and asking them for assistance in the formation of the co-operative so that it may become a properly constituted legal entity.

• Deciding on which legal form the co-operative should have. Depending on local circumstances it may be more advantageous to form and work as a legal entity which is not a co-operative but at the same time keep the co-operative aspect of working together and helping each other.

• The steering committee will have to draft the rules of the co-operative with assistance from the national governing body for co-operatives.

• Register the co-operative as a legal entity.

• Prepare a prospectus to be used to recruit members to the co-operative.

On election the Steering Group should carry out the following actions:

• Elect Officers as they deem appropriate

• Draw up Business Plan

• Consider expanding Membership.

• Decide on shareholding

• Establish Share Register

• Calling of First Annual meeting

• Agree co-operative rules

15

2.4 Formation of the Co-operative as Legal Entity. The formation of the co-operative should be carried out by the steering committee with the assistance of some technical and legal expertise as required. This may be obtained from the Local Energy Management Agency or if available a local Third Level Institute. The committee should meet on a regular basis and they will have to establish the following:

• Identify the best legal structure for the proposed co-operative. Where co-operatives are already a recognised legal structure advice should be sought from the legal body that governs the activity of co-operatives (e.g. ICOS in Ireland). Where co-operatives are not a recognised legal structure take legal advice on the most suitable legal structure for a self-help type organisation.

• Draw up a set of rules for the operation and running of the co-operative. (The National Governing Bodies for Co-operatives may have drafts that they could make available.)

• Establish the co-operative as a legal entity with the steering committee members as the interim board.

The interim board can now go ahead in commencing the operation of the co-operative as follows:

• The interim board should then begin to recruit members to the co-operative. The board, at their discretion, may decide that all members should purchase shares in the new co-operative to become members. This will ensure that only committed persons will join.

• The interim board must then call an annual general meeting to elect the board members to the co-operative and also appoint an auditor. The board will then elect the officers of the co-operative Chairperson, Secretary etc…

• The co-operative board can then take responsibility for running the co-operative. On – Going Support of the Co-operstive.

The new co-operative, depending on its size and financial resources may well require some support during its first year of operation. The original promoters, depending on who they are, may be in a position to provide this. This may take the form of administrational assistance, technical advice etc. However it is important that the co-operative be encouraged to relay on its own resources as soon as possible.

16

2.5 Recruit Members to the Co-operative This will be the responsibility of the interim board of the co-operative. They will have at this stage carried out the following:

• Drafted the rules of the co-operative • Registered the co-operative as a legal entity • Prepared the prospectus to be given to prospective members. • Decided on the value of shares in the co-operative and how many shares each

member should purchase as a minimum requirement • Establish a bank account for the co-operative. • Appoint auditors • Establish share register • Calling of first general meeting • Acceptance of membership and issue share certificate.

The steering committee should then call a public meeting inviting those people who attended the earlier meetings and invite them to become members of the co-operative. A time limit should be put as to when they should apply for membership to become founder members.

17

2.6 Election of a Board to Manage the Co-operative. Having called the first Annual General Meeting of the members of the co-operative the main activity of this meeting is to elect a board of the co-operative whose duty it will be to run the co-operative for a fixed number of years. Only members of the co-operative who have subscribed to the relevant number of shares would be eligible to be elected as BOARD members or indeed to vote in the election. The members or the board members may elect the officers, who will have to be board members, depending on the rules of the co-operative.

2.7 Preparation of Business Plan.

The preparation of a business plan for the short and medium term activities of the Co-operative is one of the first activities of the board. The primary activities of the co-operative in drawing up the business plan are as follows;

• To evaluate the Renewable Energy Resources that the Members own. • To look at the potential markets for these resources. • Compare the resources to their potential use and investigate the best way to

utilise the resources to maximise the return to the co-operative members. • Prioritise the potential developments and draw up a short and long term business

plan for the co-operative based on these resources • Implement the business plan.

18

2.8 Summary flow chart for development of Energy self supply Co-operative

Steering committee First meeting

Identify the locally available renewable

resources

Form the Co-operative as

legal entity

Recruit additional members

Prepare long-term development

plan

Commence trading

Election of Board to manage the Co-operative

Recruit members to the

Co-operative

Allocation of rules/ responsibilities within

co-operative

Hold Annual General Meeting

Election of Board to manage the Co-operative

19

Part 3: Renewable Energy Technologies 3.1

20

Biomass There are three main biomass sources available in rural areas: which includes, energy crops, forest and organic waste. Biomass can be transformed in many kinds of energy called bio energy: wood fuels for heating (detailed in section 3.1), liquid fuels for transport (detailed in section 3.2.), gas fuels from anaerobic digestion (detailed in section 3.3). The opportunity of energy self-supply co-operatives is therefore to focus on the supply chain of such biomass sources; which includes growing the biomass, harvesting it and its transformation for energy purposes. The members will have different interests to share such as technical information on crop growing based on practical experience, machineries, equipments etc.

3.1.1 Solid Biomass This kind of biomass is classified into three categories: grass/straw, softwood and hardwood. They can also be used in different shapes and sizes according to the biomass resource and utilisation requested.

Straw bales: This form of energy is used in large-scale boiler installations in industrial, farm and commercial applications. To make this technology feasible it is required to supply buildings or industries that require a large amount of heat. Straw bales boilers are also suitable for Combined Heat and Power and District Heating installation; in fact these technologies are currently available and have been well developed during the last past ten years around Europe.

Wood chips: as a fuel is best suited to medium to large installations (upwards of 30kW). The type of wood chip required depends very much on the size and type of heating system. Moisture content, calorific value, size and uniformity of chip and level of impurities are important elements and will affect the system’s efficiency. The smaller the boiler’s heat output, the more important size of chip and moisture content become.

Wood pellets: are more suited in cities and towns because of the characteristics of this wood fuel. In fact, wood pellet is easy to handle and transport and it can be used either in a stove or in a fully automatic boiler. This fuel is generally attached to the domestic heating system, but it also works in larger installations with large storage tanks or silos.

Wood briquette: is typically a large wood pellet, they have similar characteristics (moisture content, density, calorific value…) except the size but applications are different. In fact wood briquettes are mainly used in open fire as wood logs or peat briquette; they can also be used in large-scale installations when the production is sufficient to supply large project. Wood blocks: Wood Blocks are the most common type of wood fuel .Wood block boilers and stoves are now available which are much more energy efficient than the open fire. Simple and economic machinery is now available to produce wood blocks from forestry thinning.

Multi-Fuel Boiler: this kind of technology allows burning of different sources of biomass such as wood chip/pellet, grain/corn, cereals … This technology of boiler is therefore well suited for rural areas where different biomass resources are available. It can make farmers self-sufficient for their heating demand ensuring themselves a certain level of security of supply.

21

3.1.2 Liquid Bio fuels Considering that the price of the barrel of oil keeps rising and the impact of climate change throughout the World, new liquid fuels are available in most of the European markets. There are currently three biomass resources that allow liquid biofuels production; in fact it can be produced from: Sugar to Bioethanol Vegetable oil to Biodiesel Solid biomass to Liquid Biofuel

Currently the processes using sugar or vegetable oil to make biofuels are well developed. This allows different type of liquid biofuel production for engine’s / other technologies. The easiest biofuel to make is the pure plant oil which is typically vegetable oil that is filtered twice prior to combustion; however many engines need to be modified in order to run on pure plant oil.

Sugar and vegetable oil can be used as raw product to make biofuels, vegetable oil is converted into biodiesel and sugar is used to make bioethanol; they both require chemical reaction process to be produced. According Country and the European legislation allow bio diesel and bio ethanol to be mixed with mineral fuels at different rates. Most biofuel is E-85 which is 85% of bioethanol with 15% petrol; otherwise new engine technology can operate using only vegetable oil, biodiesel or bioethanol but those technologies are still expensive and not allowed by every European country.

3.1.3 Anaerobic Digestion Anaerobic digestion is a natural process; anaerobic means without air, so anaerobic digestion is a complex biochemical transformation that extracts energy as biogas from organic waste via an anaerobic digester (airless warmed sealed container). Moreover anaerobic digestion produces not only gas; a useful solid is also produced. This solid can be separated into fibre and liquor that can be used respectively as soil conditioner and fertiliser. These two products have lower pollution potential than raw slurries for plant growing and consumption. Depending on the scale of the AD plant, the biogas produced can be used on site or stored for future use. The use the biogas on site is more suitable for small and medium scale AD plant; in that case, biogas is generally burnt in combined heat and power plant or fed into a fuel cell to supply local building with electricity. The electricity generated can also be exported to grid. Part of the heat produced is used for running the AD plant, in fact this technology requires a significant amount of heat to work properly; and then the rest of heat available can supply nearby building (farm, houses). AD plant can supply biogas to an electricity generation plant using gas-fired turbines or a fuel cell to export electricity to the grid. An option which is not common at present, but which is employed in other areas of Europe and the world, is to utilise the biogas as a vehicle fuel. As petrol and diesel prices continue to increase, this will become a more viable option. The fuel could be utilised on an on farm basis, on a community basis or, eventually, on a wide scale basis as gaseous vehicle fuels become more widely accepted.

22

3.2 Solar Energy a) Thermal collector

This technology of solar panel is used for domestic hot water heating. It is also applicable to swimming pool water heating and processes that have a significant hot water demand. A solar installation is typically composed of four items: the solar collector, the heating circuit (pump, expansion vessel), and the hot water storage cylinder. There are currently two technologies of solar collector on the European market:

• Flat panel is typically made of an absorber (black tube where the water circulate) and one or two glasses to trap sun’s energy on to the panel and maximize water heating. The panel is most of the time insulated at the back to minimize heat losses and it can be integrated into the roof for better visual aspect.

• Evacuated tubes or Vacuum tubes, each water tube is included into an airless glass tube; and then all the tubes are connected in parallel. Common panel includes generally 20 or 30 tubes on domestic scale and a cage to avoid any damage on the tubes can protect it. Vacuum tubes collector is the more efficient than flat panel and obviously more expensive technology.

b) Photovoltaic system

Photovoltaic (PV) solar energy is the conversion of sunlight to electricity. The photovoltaic effect occurs when sunlight energizes electrons in a semiconductor material and causes them to flow through a circuit, creating electric current. One of the major strengths of PV systems is their modularity. As your needs grow individual components can be replaced or added to provide increased capacity. A solar PV system usually includes:

Photovoltaic modules that produce direct current. Batteries to store the electricity produced Charge controller in order to protect batteries(s) from overcharging; Inverters transform the electricity stored in the batteries (DC 12 Volts) into

electricity we can use at home.

PV is mainly used for remote sites with small electricity requirement where grid connection is not feasible. Where there in significant sunshine resources it can provide energy for many applications; but this technology is still expensive and involves long payback periods. The economic justification for PV will vary between electrical saving made/price per kW produced when exported to the grid and installation cost.

23

3.3 Wind Energy There is a significant potential for farmer owned wind energy co-operatives. Farmers can install small-scale wind turbine for their own electricity requirement called stand alone system or they can construct a wind farm with large-scale wind turbine’s to supply electricity to the grid. Smaller applications include small turbines, usually between than 1-10 kW. Applications include charging of batteries to electrical supplies in remote areas. Other applications include hybrid electrical supply systems whereby the wind turbine when operational replaces electricity imported from the grid in different building types. Harnessing wind as a renewable energy source involves converting the power within a moving air mass (wind) into rotating shaft power. Modern wind turbines contain rotors fitted with aerodynamic blades, which utilise lift forces caused by the wind on the blades to turn the shaft. The shaft rotates inside a generator (located behind the rotor and blades) that generates electricity. The production of wind turbines for electricity generation commenced on a large scale in the 1970’s. Over the next two decades wind farms grew in size and capacity. Large-scale wind power is now competitive with fossil fuel generated power. Co-operative owned and operated wind farms are now common In Denmark, some 60% for the wind turbine are owned by windmill guilds which usually operate as co-operatives even though they are registered as partnerships for tax reasons. Small wind farms, two to three turbines, can operate on farmland without interfering with the farming activities and at the same time generate an additional income for the landowner. Developing a Wind Energy Project involves the following steps

Research grant support Site Selection – Wind speed, grid, access, zoning of land. Resource assessment Planning Grid Connection Power Purchase Agreement

24

3.4 Geothermal Energy Geothermal energy is typically the environment heat available in the ground, in the water and in the air. The technology used to extract the heat available from these sources is a heat pump. There are four different technologies of heat pump collector circuit that are adapted to each environment source:

Horizontal loop ground collectors Vertical ground collector typically boreholes or energy piles Ground Water and in some cases surface water Air Collector

Heat pumps all run on the same process, they are differentiated only in the type of collector used to collect the environmental heat energy. The heat pump system present two main advantages: only ¼ of energy required is electricity to run the heat pump and the process is reversible which means it is possible also to cool buildings during summer. The heat pump system produces low water temperature (T = 40ºC ± 5ºC), so it is more suited to use underfloor heating instead of radiators. If radiators are used, it is required to oversize them because there are usually sized for a water temperature of 60ºC.

The heat pump technology is a mature reliable technology and with the range of collector mechanisms it can be used on almost all sites. In some countries there are prohibitions in pumping groundwater for hest extraction only.

Heat pumps have an advantage over some of the other renewable energy technologies in that the heat can be obtained when required eg. Wind energy is only available when the wind is blowing.

Geothermal energy systems are usually only used to heat single buildings. Where District Heating is requires Geothermal Energy from deep in the earths crust is used. This is a capital-intensive technology and would not be suitable to small rural co-operatives in their early stage of development.

25

Part 4: ENSRC Project Case Studies

26

4.1 Waterford Renewable Energy Co-operative - Ireland As part of their commitments to the ENSRC project Waterford County Council was required to form a Self Supply Energy Co-operative in their county. The formation of the co-operative can be broken down in three phases as follows:

• Publicity Phase

• Studies

• Formation of the co-operative a) Publicity Phase

In the initial phase of the formation of the Co-operative Waterford County Council was the team leader and their first activity was to see what the public reaction was to the concept of an energy self supply rural co-operative, particularly in the rural areas of Co. Waterford.

This was done by Waterford County Council holding two public meetings in Dungarvan to promote the idea of an energy self supply co-operative in early 2006. Waterford County Council sent fliers to the farmers in the county to invite them to a meeting to explain to them the concept of the proposed co-operative. At each meeting the attendees were given a questionnaire to gauge the reaction to the proposal. The purpose of the questionnaire at the first meeting was to find in which renewable energies farmers were interested in developing; biomass from energy crop and forestry residues was the technology which interested the larger number of the audience. The second questionnaire, which was handed out during the second meeting was to select members of the audience who would be interested in forming an energy self supply co-operative. The audience elected from the people proposed a steering group to establish the co-operative (see the results of the questionnaires below).

1st Questionaire Results: Farmer Interest

40.00

28.33 30.00

6.67

0.00

10.00

20.00

30.00

40.00

50.00

Biomass Bio fuel Wind AD

INTERESTED FARMERS

13

5

18

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

1 2 3

1 = Ticked the Box would like to be involved in Interim Steering Committee2 = left that one box unticked, but interested and want to be involved.3 = All who completed form, showing interest.

Finally, after these two meetings, Waterford County Council formed the steering group comprising five farmers elected from the public meetings and representatives from the two Irish Partners in the ENSRC Project.

The Steering Group, having evaluated the results of the questionnaires decided that biomass development would be the primary objective of the co-operative in the short term.

27

b) Studies

As part of the ENSRC Project a number of studies were carried out during the first year of the project relating to the co-operative and its proposed operation. The Irish partners in the ENSRC, Project Waterford County Council, Brian P. Connor and Associates Ltd and the steering group members carried out these studies.

The Studies included the following:

• Renewable Energy Resources in Co. Waterford.

• Barriers and Incentives to the development of Renewable Energies in Co. Waterford

• Development Plan for the Co-operative

• Feasibility Plan for development of Biomass by the Co-operative

• Renewable Energy Resources in County Waterford. This study looked at the various renewable energy resources that could be developed in County Waterford. These included:

• Large and Small scale Wind Power Development

• Solid Biomass Energy Crops

• Liquid Biofuels

• Anaerobic Digestion

• Solar Energy

• Forestry Residue.

The resources of the above technologies in the county were evaluated.

• Barriers and Incentive to the development of Renewable Energies in County Waterford. In this study the barriers and incentives to the development on the Renewable Energies listed above were investigated. This study was not restricted to local barriers and incentives unique to Co. Waterford but also National and European Barriers and Incentives. This study was not confined to physical barriers but also legal restrictions e.g. Town Planning. The incentives investigated also included local, national and EU incentives.

• Development Plan for the Co-operative The development plan looks at the steps necessary to establish the co-operative. This was a guide for the Steering Committee.

• Feasibility Plan for the Development of Biomass by the Co-operative This feasibility study looked at the development of Biomass, energy crops, forestry and biomass waste streams by the co-operative in County Waterford. The economics of these activities was also addressed.

28

c) Formation of the Co-operative.

Following on the election of the Steering Committee the main task that they had to do was to establish the co-operative as a legal entity, recruit members to the co-operative and arrange the first Annual General Meeting. To assist the Steering Committee the partners (WCC & BPC) arranged for various specialists in biomass development to give talks to the steering group and also experts in the formation of co-operatives.

The steering group then set about setting up the co-operative which included filling and signing all the legal form to set up the co-operative, and obtaining information on the benefit of the co-operative and the future actions of the co-operative such as the Annual General Meeting, interim board formation, internal meetings etc. The establishment of the Co-operative was assisted by the Irish Co-operative Organisation Society ltd – (ICOS,) the governing body for co-operatives in Ireland. Waterford Renewable Energy Society Limited (WRE) was officially registered with ICOS in February 2007. The steering group members then became Interim Board Members of WRE having the full powers of the Board of the Co-operative until such time as an Annual General Meeting is called and the members elect a Board of Directors.

Membership. The WRE Interim Board then sent application forms to those people who had attended the public meetings and invited them to become members of the co-operative. They had two options, they could become individual members or if they traded as a company they could become corporate members. The initial membership deadline was fixed on the 3rd May 2007 and they are currently 20 members of the WRE each member had to purchase 500 1€ shares in WRE. The Interim Board considered that it was necessary that all co-operative members purchase shares in the co-operative, as it would ensure that only committed people would join. This money would provide some development capital for the co-operative’s operations. The interim board then called an Annual General Meeting of the members and a board of Directors was elected and auditors were appointed. The Co-operative is now a registered Co-operative, the board and members having all the advantages, which goes with Co-operative membership (see the seven principles of a Co-operative below). They all will have the control of the activities of the Co-operative (one member = one vote) and will be avail of services of the Co-operative and benefit from working with other members in developing initially a biomass supply chain. The Co-Operative principles are guidelines by which Co-Operative put their values into practice:

1st Principle: Voluntary and Open Membership 2nd Principle: Democratic Member Control 3rd Principle: Member Economic Participation 4th Principle: Autonomy and Independence 5th Principle: Education, Training and Information. 6th Principle: Co-Operation among Co-Operatives 7th Principle: Concern for Community

Membership is open to all persons who have or wish to have an involvement in biomass or renewable energy development. This will include: growers, processors, end user, contractors, equipment installers and suppliers. The final decision on eligibility for membership rests with the Board of Directors. The co-operative have set up a Web site: www.waterfordenergyco-operative.ie

29

d) Operation of Waterford Renewable Energy Co-Operative Society Limited.

The co-operative has been in operation for eight months at the time of preparing this guide. The Board meets ever month and the main activity of the board members with assistance of WCC &BPC was to investigate the feasibility of establishing a wood pelletizing plant in the county to supply locally produced wood pellets to the co-operative members and others in the county. The feasibility study indicated that while the co-operative members had a good supply of raw material for pellet manufacture there were not sufficient pellet boilers at present in the county and catchment area to justify the investment in a pellet manufacturing plant.

The board decided to postpone investment at present and instead to consider a promotion campaign to encourage the use of biomass and build up the use of biomass pellet boilers to the extent that a pellet manufacturing plant would be viable. This programme will look to increase the use of renewable energy in the county by combining into one cohesive campaign the incentives on offer by the various State and Semi State bodies and the Local Authorities. These incentives vary from direct grants to the consumer to install renewable equipment to relaxation of the Town Planning rules by Local Planning Bodies. Energy Rating of Buildings, Smart Metering and lower fuel prices will, when combined, make a compelling case for the use of renewable on the small-scale i.e. self-supply of energy. It is vital that all these incentives be marketed by the co-operative. Funding for this project will be sought by the co-operative from local rural development groups.

The development of the biomass supply chain would be the second part of this development programme.

30

4.2 Agry Co-Operative Bulgaria 1. Terms of reference This section of the report referrers to the established co-operative for biomass

utilization called “Co-Operative Energy – AGRI” in the Bulgarian North Eastern rural regions. The co-operative was created within the project: “Energy Self Supply in Rural Communities “(ENSRC) financed under Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE) program.

2. Summary and Conclusions According to the project objectives and activities, an agricultural Co-Operative

was established for operation in the rural regions for promotion of the possibilities for biomass utilization as a good opportunity to reduce the energy consumption.

A Business Plan for the Co Operative development was elaborated for the period of 2-3 years. The project had to meet the commercial interests of all the shareholders in the Co-Operative. An analysis of the possibilities of biomass utilization for the energy needs was made for the “Co- Operative – AGRI”.

An important note is that there is relatively scarce information for the availability of biomass resources and for the precise energy needs in the rural regions. The proposed strategy for development is as follows:

Year 1 Promote installation of biomass. Planning of biomass supply chain using existing sources of biomass.

Year 2 Planning of appropriate kind of installation and elaborate logistic frame for existing sources of biomass.

3. Background

Energy Co- Op members are the owners of agriculture land, windmill,

greenhouses and the storehouse for grain. The main energy needs are for heating. Currently the heating is provided by boilers, which use natural gas as a fuel. The natural gas is an ecological fuel to certain degree with minimum emissions of CO2. The researches were determined that the heating by natural gas is unprofitable because of the high gas price. Accordingly it was decided to make a choice for cheaper fuel, namely the biomass. Another advantage of the biomass is that it is a local resource, that makes the supply more secure and you can reach lower price at the same time. The raw material is mainly straw, maize-field, sunflower stems and husk, tobacco stems, fruit orchards and vineyards cuttings. The feasibility studies show that about 30% of straw amounts, 65% of maize-field and about 80 % of another solid farm biomass can be examined for energy purposes.

31

4. Rationale Energy dependence: The amount of energy sources import is indicative for the energy dependence. Bulgaria imports 48 % of its energy sources. Increasing price of the energy sources: There has been a dramatic increase in the price of energy sources during the last several years. That stimulates the owners to search for alternative methods for reduction of the energy cost. Provision of supplies: Bulgaria is a big gas importer and the local reserves found to-date are of minimum amounts. The gas import comes mainly from Russia. The decrease of gas consumption leads to decrease of the economic dependence on imported energy sources. a) Strategy - General “Energy Co Op - AGRI” consolidates its efforts for energy cost reduction in rural areas and it will elaborate corresponding projects. A SWOT analysis has been made for determination of the economic effectiveness and the opportunity to implement this method.

Strategy SWOT Analysis

Internal Strength Internal Weaknesses Local sourced biomass Environmentally Friendly Farmers are Energy Consumers

Lack of knowledge Possible limited supply High cost for a transport Need of storage

External Opportunities Troubles General trend towards renewable energy Possible additional income from sludge bio filtration Possibility of additional grants Increasing oil prices

No external customers Existing and emerging Commercial Biomass heating supplier

b) Strategy - Economics Analysis The application of technology for biomass utilization strongly depends on the possibility for grant assimilation. The grant issue is related to the application with a developed project, which is why the project will be elaborated in terms of required financial resources, taking no account whether these resources are private or grant. Scenario: Raw materials production of producers (Self-supply). According to this scenario the farmers produce straw by themselves, which is necessary to cover their energy needs. Biomass heating is about twice cheaper in comparison with the heating provided by natural gas. Biomass advantage becomes even bigger if a grant has been used. Estimated risk: low/medium It is important to underline that for biomass heating the boiler; the storage places and the fields for harvest of the straw should be in close vicinity. These conditions are valid only for farmers, which have their own land.

32

4.3 The Sustainable Energy Co-operative - Wales

As part of their commitments to the ENSRC project, Carmarthenshire Energy Agency was required to form a Self Supply Energy Co-operative in Carmarthenshire.

The project was supported in Wales by the following bodies:

The main partners in establishing the co-operative were:

• Carmarthenshire Energy Agency

• PMR – the Machinery Ring (an existing co-operative which provides equipment and machinery for farmers and others).

• Carmarthenshire County Council

• Wildlife Trusts

• Farmers

• Businesses and Landowners

• Wales Co-operative Centre a) Autumn 2006 – Background Studies During autumn 2006, Carmarthenshire Energy Agency (CEA) carried out research into the Barriers & Incentives of establishing a renewable energy co-operative in Carmarthenshire. CEA decided to focus on establishing biomass energy co-operative as the most suitable form of renewable energy co-operative in Carmarthenshire. b) Spring 2007 – Publicity Phase CEA organized a promotional event, Biomass in the Countryside, on 15 February 2007, to help inform the development of the co-operative. Attendees at Biomass in the Countryside were subsequently:

• asked to express an interest in becoming part of the co-operative;

• sent a Questionnaire to help identify and quantify the biomass resource potential in rural Carmarthenshire and help focus the direction of the co-operative; and

• Asked to express a preference on the four Options presented.

33

c) Spring/Summer 2007 – Establishing the Co-operative and Preparation of Development Plan

Those who expressed an interest in becoming part of the co-operative were invited to follow-up meetings from spring 2007 onwards to form a Development Group to finalise the details of the nature, extent and membership of the co-operative and to establish it as a legal entity. The Development Group’s role was to steer the development of the co-operative and prepare a short, medium and long-term Development Plan (including technical and financial feasibility studies) for the energy co-operative. Agreement was reached at the Co-operative Development Group meeting to: Establish a biomass co-operative whose initial focus was to convert wood-waste and forestry thinning to high quality woodchip, for both self-supply and external sales. The Development Group agreed to aim for an annual woodchip supply target of 15,000 tonnes within 3 years. One of the guiding principles of the co-operative is to source its biomass from sustainable forests and woodlands. The Development Group agreed to establish the co-operative as a company limited by guarantee. The Development Group also agreed on the memorandum and articles of association for the co-operative. d) Autumn/Winter 2007 - Developing Business Opportunities During autumn 2007, the Development Group identified upcoming tender opportunities which would provide a very strong start to the co-operative. Securing large contracts would provide security to the development of small-scale opportunities amongst local suppliers and users. These tender announcements demonstrate the growing local markets the supply and demand of biomass in south West Wales. The co-operative is also preparing funding applications to fund the initial development of the co-operative, including staff and equipment. However, it is expected and planned that the co-operative will become self-sufficient on a commercial basis by Year 3. e) Winter 2007 - Official Launch and Sign-up Co-operative Members Carmarthenshire’s Sustainable Energy Co-operative is now ready to begin trading and will be officially launched in early 2008. At the same time, we will be signing-up the Co-operative’s first members.

34

4.4 Co-operative Portugal

Establishment of energy cooperative in Seixal 1) First steps in co-operative formation In Portugal the flower production sector has unique characteristics concerning energy consumption. It is an energy intensive sector as greenhouses have to be heated in the wintertime to maintain a temperature of 14~16ºC to guarantee the quality of the flowers produced. At the same time the warehouses, where flowers are being prepared for transportation, need some cooling to preserve the quality of the final product. On the other hand this is a sector that produces large quantities of biomass waste but usually does not use it. It is also a high value added sector that has some capacity to invest. AMESEIXAL established a partnership with the company “FLORINEVE, Produção e Comercialização de Flores”, to work in the ENSRC project. As FLORINEVE was about to replace its 7 diesel air heaters AMESEIXAL undertook a study to assess 2 different potential investments:

• Purchase of a 5 kVA PV system to sell electricity to the grid and provide additional revenues to the company. The price paid by the grid is relatively high but our study showed that the payback time of the investment was not very attractive (7.5 years).

• Replacement of the 7 existing diesel air heaters by biomass air heaters or, in alternative, by natural gas air heaters. AMESEIXAL study showed that wood pellets air heaters represent a higher investment but have much lower operational costs. Payback time was of 2 years and 5 months when compared to the diesel air heaters. This payback time could even be reduced to 1 year and 2 months with the utilization of the biomass waste produced locally. When compared with the natural gas based solution the biomass air heaters still enable lower operational costs but payback time increases to 5 years and 10 months.

Unfortunately FLORINEVE took the decision to invest in natural gas air heaters as they were approached by SETGAS (natural gas supplier), which offered the connection to the gas network for free. Therefore AMESEIXAL had to develop a new approach to fulfil the ENSRC project objectives. 2) New approach for cooperative development The City Council of Seixal is about to invest in a new swimming pool. AMESEIXAL has provided full support to identify the best solution for water and space heating. Biomass has clearly been identified as the most cost-effective solution. The establishment of a cooperative, under the ENSRC project, represents a unique opportunity to ensure a successful implementation of a biomass-based solution in a city council with little or no experience in this field. The newly identified objective for the ENSRC project is to create a safe and reliable biomass supply chain and promote the use of biomass in all sectors of activity in Seixal and its surroundings.

35

The creation of a cooperative induces significant costs. Setting up costs (registry costs) and annual operational costs (accountant fees and tax payments) have been estimated at € 5.610 and € 4.546 respectively. Under these circumstances the decision was taken to delay the formal establishment of a cooperative and create instead an informal network with the participation of several entities to promote the use of biomass for energy at local and regional level. This project will contribute to the sustainable development at local and regional level, as it will:

o Point out alternative and competitive solutions based on renewable energy sources;

o Identify new income opportunities for farmers, based on growing crops for energy purposes;

o Reduce CO2 emissions in accordance with the Portuguese commitments under the Kyoto protocol.

The following partners have been invited to join this network:

• FLORINEVE: flower and biomass waste producer; • AFLOPS – Association of Biomass Producers of Setúbal District; • SOBIOEN: biomass waste supplier; • City Council of Seixal: biomass waste producer (significant quantities of

biomass residues from municipal and private gardens are collected every year) and potential investor in RES technologies.

The proposed strategy is being implemented through:

The promotion of a bigger use of the biomass in boilers, in all sectors of activity;

Technical and economical studies on biomass use, such as the one elaborated by AMESEIXAL for the company FLORINEVE;

Evaluation of the potential contribution of biomass for space heating in rural areas;

Creation of a network of stakeholders in the biomass sector; Evaluation of the potential of agricultural production for energy

purposes, at local and regional level. A kick-off meeting was organised in September 2007 with the participation of several representatives of AFLOPS, SOBIOEN and the City Council of Seixal. Another meeting will be scheduled in February 2008 to continue our work. This case study shows that it is very easy for possible co-operative projects not to come to fruition as a renewable energy has to compete with fossil fuel costs and in particular natural gas where it is available. However the promoter should not abandon activities but as they did in Portugal seek other opportunities

36