Coboldo Melo, Vice Mayor of Vidracco: The project Vidracco Energy involves the construction of an energy center that uses biomass and organic waste to produce fuel ecologically. It is ecological in that it uses plant-based materials and there is no combustion or production of mineral residues. The fuel produced shall power a co-generation motor to produce electrical energy for the city.
This project was inspired by the ethics of sustainability applied in a local condition, in combination with the use of technology to attain practical results. The intention of this project is to bring the resources of the city back into the hands of the people, to give them the power to participate in solutions.
The Earth Charter is the reference document for this project. We intend that this is a zero-impact initiative and that the economic benefits that are derived from this project will support activities that respect the values delineated in the Earth Charter. The Earth Charter proposes a society with ethical economies, ones that value improving the environment. This is key, not just avoiding pollution, but leaving the land improved for future generations.
This program is meant to be a reproducible model that can be used in many other localities, creating a network of production points and ethical businesses. Also, the network serves for citizens to exchange information and share cultural contact. Currently, this model is only reproducible in smaller towns, such as Vidracco, although the intention is to eventually reproduce it in larger cities as well, where organic waste that normally cannot be utilized can instead be transformed into a valuable resource.
The technology of biomass is such that it consumes waste to produce resources, which is a change of logic. Biomass is in use in other countries as well, though as a for-profit endeavor. Our project is unique in that it gives back to the people, and it supports the sustainability and development of the community.
We intend that the new electric center in Vidracco is functioning by November 8, 2009 and that by mid-2010, we shall have sufficient results to measure the functionality and success of this project.
News Archive 
