Social program with solar will only work if there is support for residents

O Federal government studies the creation of a program to facilitate the population access, especially the poorest, to GD (distributed generation).

One of the suggestions proposed is the return of the program housing MCMV (My Home My Life) common “upgrade” offering apartments and houses with balconies for low-income people. 

This is because the MME (Ministry of Mines and Energy) promises to follow the transitional government report recommendation and propose to the Ministry of Cities the financing of popular housing equipped with solar energy systems.

A idea is to allow the low-income population to take advantage of the benefits and guaranteed discounts in the value of the electricity bill, thus increasing your purchasing power.

The proposal aims to offer a different model for each type of consumer, which may involve, for example, lines of credit with lower interest rates for middle-class families and other sources of financing for more vulnerable communities. However, there is still no closed format.

What to do to make it work?

Although it appears to be a positive measure at first glance, Edward Avila, executive director of Revolusolar – non-profit association that brings solar energy to low-income communities – draws attention to the fact that The initiative will only work if the Federal Government offers support to the population. 

“A fundamental point of attention for the implementation of a program like this is the training of residents so that they can manage and maintain the systems after they are installed”, he commented. 

The director of the association recalls that the Brazil has already tried to apply solutions similar to this in other opportunities and they ended not working. One example happened in 2014.

“It was a pilot project in Juazeiro (BA) and it had no continuity in the lives of the population, because the Federal Government was not concerned about training and managing the population with the systems. The result was that the solar panels ended up breaking and deteriorating within two years,” he recalls.

Avila also explains that, in parallel to this, the Federal Government could think about create a professional training program in solar energy for the residents served by the program, thinking about the generating jobs and increasing the population’s income low income.

Other point considered key by the executive director of Revolusolar is the program design and planning. “It is very important that the implementation of this public policy has broad social participation, listening to the private sector, civil society, social movements, among others.” 

Furthermore, he considers it to be It is important that the Federal Government pays attention to the amounts charged in financing of these homes, in order to attract more people. 

“It is essential that a work plan is drawn up to create specific arrangements that increase the perception of attractiveness of construction companies for people who are within economic groups 1 to 2, who are those most vulnerable”. 

Finally, Avila also said that it is necessary to consider and include other sources of financing within the popular housing project, which is not just Caixa Econômica Federal. As an example, he cites the BNDES (National Bank for Economic and Social Development) and the Climate Fund. 

“There are several funds that need to be considered in order to have sustainability not only in the operation, but also in the financing for future continuity of this program”, he concluded.