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Ever-increasing energy consumption is one of the greatest challenges facing Europe and the world today. Most consumption is derived from fossil fuels - much of it imported from outside Europe, depleting natural resources and contributing to global climate change, through increased greenhouse gas emissions. When the EU signed the Kyoto Protocol, it promised to reduce these emissions by 2012, by 8% in comparison to 1990 levels. To meet this commitment, significant changes of behaviour are required now, both in terms of energy supply and demand management.

Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency in Latin America and the Carribean

Technology transfer between Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean presents great political and technical challenges. Their population is more than 550 million, growing at 1.5% annually. Latin America stretching from Mexico to Chile, and the Caribbean covering more than 20 million km² (one seventh of the total world land surface) contain enormous natural resources including energy. Political will is required to eradicate the acute poverty from which many Latin American and Caribbean regions suffer.

OPET Latin America (OLA) aims to promote clean and efficient European energy generation technologies and transport applications in Latin America and the Caribbean.

This project offers excellent technical opportunities to the European renewable energies sector. Europe is the world leader and European companies have very promising opportunities for technology development in the large and growing Latin American and Caribbean markets.

The OPET OLA project encourages:

• promotion and investment in RES technologies
• science and technology
• co-operation between organisations and professionals in Europe and the countries involved in the project
• dissemination of R&D activities

The Consortium coordinator was the Spanish Institute for the Diversification and Saving of Energy (IDAE).