Timor-Leste - Energy Conservation, Sustainability, Group Members Task Allocation - Report Example

Energy project in Codo,Timor Leste. May 2013 Summary This report is a design concept of developing a sustainable transportation means in Code, Timor Leste. The reports give a background of the benefits of having energy requirements in the study area where both solar energy and biogas has been featured. The project has been accomplished in four tasks with each of the group member being in charge one task. The report has clearly laid out the communication procedure among the group members so as to ensure a smooth running of the project. Introduction In the entire Timor Leste energy sector is very dynamic. In 2000 and late 1990s the power infrastructure in the entire region was greatly damaged just as all other infrastructure (Mercy Corps,2009). In districts like Code there has been installation of new power lines with many houses being connected. The residents currently are enjoying free power as the meters have not yet been connected. Because the residents are currently obtaining free electricity most of the generator that have been in use has been converted so that mains electricity is entirely in use. It is in the interest of community to know if the motors can be cheaply run using electricity or if use of diesel/ petrol will be the pest option once metres have been installed and the electricity expenditure is being charged. There is also need to consider several other cleaner energy like solar power. The energy requirement for the community for cooking is another important that need to be addressed. In Code Timor Liste currently use of open fire and gas powered stoves is common. Gas has been found to be expensive and not affordable to the majority of the community members in addition of the problem of rats chewing through the pipelines and this raises safety concern. The desire of the community is to have more efficient, sustainable fuels and stove design used in cooking. In the entire of Timo-Leste high capital cast has been sited as the major reason for reluctance in uptake of renewable energy technologies. It is difficult to imagine why anybody would consider using solar energy as a back up power instead of using a diesel generator. Both the solar electric power system and the essential infrastructure like buildings, computers and photocopiers are in institutions like schools may be high cost of equal magnitude. However, for the case of solar electric power supply system are known to have a longer life span than items like photocopier provided they get the required maintenance. If a solar system is properly maintained, it has the ability to continue providing electrical energy for up to twenty years with the running costs being very low, provided the battery are replaced when necessary in about 5 to 10 years. The purchase of a diesel gerator may not be a very expensive affair but considering the running cost it will be found that over thenty years of service the diesel generator will be much more expensive in comparison to the solar power option in Timor-Leste. This is more so in remote villages where fuel is not easy to obtain and transportation cost is very high. Many NGOs operating Timor Leste have been found to be highly expertise in the area of appropriate technology, but there is bias towards water and sanitation. Lack of reliable electric power supply that is important for livelihood activities is a problem which is seen to be of concern in many parts of Timor Leste including Code district (Karki, J.N and Sundar B., 2009) . In such a situation the proposed energy project will be appropriate as the participants will share there knowledge in this area to community members on environmentally sustainable energy products. There a great opportunity for capacity building in renewable energy for Code District. Another energy concern for Code as pointed out earlier is cooking fuel. Considering the entire Timor Leste, the most dependable fuel is the traditional fuel wood, with about 95% of people in the rural areas depending on biomass fuel (mostly wood) (Mercy Corps, 2009). . A negligible fraction of the biomass is from agriculture residues, coffee husks, rice husks and coconut shells. In has also been found that only a very fraction use cylinder LPG or kerosene and this (and this are from the city Dili). Most of the fuel which are being consumed are sourced from the forests with an average family consumption of fuel being 7kg per day. There rampant use of the traditional three stone open fires associated with high consumption of and also popular for high level of pollution of the indoor air. The fuel used is cheap and usually collected from the forests in the neighborhoods. The excessive consumption of fuel makes the forest to be under pressure with the average rate of deforestation in the entire Timor Leste being approximated at 1.3% (Mercy Corps, 2009). Forests has been very accessible for people who need fuel wood, but the government has started regulating fuel wood collection from the forest, a clear indication wood fuel supply may dwindle in the near future. In house hold of average size 3 hours in a day is spend on cooking in the morning hours and in the evening. For a typical rural set up heating houses is not seen as a necessity. The Government is making effort to establish hydro and diesel base power plants so that electricity can reach many parts of the country, however many perceive that these initiatives by government will not reach many community members. This therefore calls for looking for other alternative energy sources as away accessing domestic energy. In Code where the electricity has been supplied the cost of electricity and the most appropriate way of the electricity is the major concern. In some of the other areas where consumers are paying for these services the charges are found to be very high in addition to the supply being of very low reliability. The billing system is also noted as not being the best. It is therefore of importance for the community members in Code Timor Leste to have alternative sources of energy as this will serve as a best access to domestic energy. In some of the households biogas will be the undisputed best alternatives for use in cooking and lighting. The households will need to have enough cattle waste for the running of the biogas plant. Energy Conservation In the entire Timor-Leste energy conservation will majorly concentrate on use of fire wood in a more efficient manner. For Code where electricity has been supplied in some areas conservation of electricity may also need to be addressed in addition to wood fuel conservation. I areas with no electricity and for those who are not consumers because of their financial inability ensures that energy conservation looks after itself. But for NGOs and other businesses connected to electricity it is a different scenario. Te development agencies have staff members who are sourced locally with some good education background but not necessary of technical nature. This also applies to other homes which enjoy electricity services. There may be a lot of waste of energy even though there may be all good intentions of the agencies staff and the other domestic users, but lack of relevant knowledge is only the shortcoming. For household energy consumption the major savings in energy consumption comes from replacement of incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent lights which are more compact. Sustainability The sustainability of the projects that are to be undertaken is a very important issue to be put into consideration. The sustainability of the project will be dependant on the capacity building that will be undertaken including training local community members on various energy programmes like, solar energy and biogas. The installation process of solar energy is a very important and also the maintenance. For the biogas, the design is very important and also the operation of the plant is very important. It will be important to have maintenance support such as provision of spare parts and having enough skilled labour being provided by technicians who will be trained as part of the program. There will be need to have all the training materials having pictures as much as possible so as to enable ease of use by low level literacy community members. For the case of solar energy, the solar energy equipment need to involve suppliers whenever possible. This may come with an increased cost but will be good especially when major repairs are required. There will also be need to insist on the supplier to give a warranty for the goods. The fact that there is high level of illiteracy in the project area more so for women, this is likely to impact negatively on the sustainability of the project. This therefore calls for inclusion of pictorials in all the project documentation relevant to the local community and there should also be use of visual methods of communication being part of the training courses. Continuity of staff is also a very important aspect of project sustainability. The project members may only be at the field for a short time and therefore it is advisable to have a local person who permanently lives in the project area and who will act as a contact person after members have left. This will ensure that there is essential monitoring and maintenance taking place after completion of project. The learning acquired from the projects can be transferred to relevant stakeholders such as NGOs who will work on similar projects in the area. The project will involve development of various renewable energy solutions for Code Timor Leste. In Code Timor Liste area energy is of concern with fuel wood being relied on for cooking and electricity cost which may be available for some but not affordable while other may not have access to electricity. The major concern is that most of the resident being poor and therefore requiring cheap and clean energy source. In Code Timor Leste, has been supplied to some of the resident for free but this will change when the metres are installed. The charges are likely to be very for the local community members to afford. The use of firewood is not only wasteful but this is also unclean. This situation at Code need a quick solution that can address the energy challenges (Turner J., 2012). The desired energy solution need to be cheap enough to be affordable by Codo Timor Leste with a sound maintenance plan incorporated. The solution to be offered by the project will have to address various issues to ensure that the project is a success. This will include purchasing costs, the maintenance cost of equipment, the payback period and also the willingness of the government to offer any subsidy (Colin, 2010). On the process of offering the solutions there will be need for cost benefit analysis to be done so as to ascertain if the solution is the best option for the local residents and also in to convince the government to invest in the energy solution. The reliability of the offered solution is important in terms, socially acceptability and also design soundness. Group members task allocation There will be important tasks which will be assigned to group members so as to ensure that the project will be successful. The tasks to be undertaken by the four team are discussed below. Surveying of project area biogas project Biogas has been identified to be one of the solutions to the energy problems facing the community. The biogas solution can only be feasible where individuals have cattle and thus there is enough waste to be used. Water is also very important in production of biogas. A group member will have to assess the project area to establish areas in which this project can be done. After identifying the house holds which can be considered for the biogas project groups will have to be made where members will receive some training on biogas plant design, operation and maintenance. Also technician will also receive a more detailed training on the design and construction of the plant. Assessment of solar energy needs There will be need to assess the need for provision of solar energy to the community. This will involve identifying the areas which are not covered with electricity and thus may require solar energy more urgently. The size of houses and their respective solar needs will be assessed. The ability of the community members to purchase the solar power equipment will also be assessed. The other alternatives which the community members will be willing to use to obtain money for the project will be investigated including obtaining loans. Maintenance and repair services The maintenance and repair of both the solar systems biogas is a very important aspect of the project. The team member assigned the task will be responsible for identifying community members who can receive training in this areas so as to ensure that the services can be accessed easily. The team member will responsible for identifying the local people who have some academic background suitable to receive training and those who may already have the relevant skills. The trainers will receive payment for their services by the project sponsors. The community members will also need identify a suitable training ground. After the training the qualified personnel be fully involved in the implementation of the projects. Teams Operating Rules outline. The group members will be expected to complete the assigned duties in time up which the findings will delivered to the group members in the meetings which will be taking place regularly. The group will have a group leader who will coordinate all the group activities and will the link of the group to the project sponsors. Issues that need any for ofclarification by group members are supposed to be asked well in advance to enable the responsible membet to investigate the same and provide a satisfactory answer. When sharing of information is to be done, safe areas are to be used so as to avoid information so as no project information find way into wrong hands. Procedures of Communication Communication between group members is to be well coordinated with the preferable means of exchanging information being e-mail and SMS will be used for alerting members of meetings or about information having been sent to them though e-mail. Also the members will encouraged to have an email alert on there mobile phones. Communition regarding the project to be only during the officially allocated time of the project with public facilities use project information transfer being discouraged as this will result into project materials maybe accessed by strangers or community members who may not required to have the information at all. Group members will be encouraged to share project information freely and be helpful to others on their tasks. Group members will be alerted of meetings to held at least 24 hours to the time of the meeting so as t to reduce chances of members missing meeting or coming to meetings without thorough preparation. Meetings will not be expected to be cancelled at last minutes but in case such events occur the members will be expected to understand the situation. Members of the group who may not be in a position to attend a scheduled meeting will require giving this information well on time and will have to delegate their duties to other team members well on time. Conclusion As a students participant in the Code Timor Leste energy project we will expect to have many benefits towards our career development. Being part of the project gives the participants a rare opportunity to explore the theoretical knowledge impacted in class at the field and being of benefit in offering practical problems. Communication barrier between the project participants and the local community members will be the major challenges to be encountered in the project execution process. Also the project participants’ a lot of time at the field and this could mean exposure to some of health hazards as a result of taking of untreated water, not their regular meals in addition to unfavourable weather conditions like low temperatures in the night hours and very high temperatures at night. By the participants encountering all this problems, they will learn numerous survival tactics for future use when undertaking projects at the field level. This design concept of developing a sustainable energy projects in Code, Timor Leste has addressed many aspects of the projects. The report has enumerated all the relevant aspects of the project area and it is hoped that the finer details of the project will easily fit into this concept. It is also our hope that the local community and government authorities will fully assist in ensuring that the project is implemented. References Karki, J.N Shrestha and Sundar Bajgain (2009) Biogas as Renewable Source of Energy in Nepal: Theory and Development. A B . BSP-Nepal. Mercy Corps,(2009). Addressing Energy Poverty in Timor-Leste Sinclair, A. (1992). Tyranny of a team ideology. Organization studies. Sundar B. and Lemos E. (2010). Feasibility of a Domestic Biogas Programme in Timor Leste Turner J.(2012). Plan Timor Leste EWB Challenge. Project Design Brief Read More