Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Making Use of Power Lines' Wasted Electricity

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Jul 26 2010 (IPS) - The energy that is lost along electrical transmission lines can be utilized by small, nearby communities, says José Ezequiel Ramos, an engineer with the government electrical company Eletrobras. This would help democratize access to electricity and prevent electromagnetic pollution in areas near the high-tension power lines, said Ramos.

He developed the idea in his doctoral thesis, using Italian technology for energized lightning cables on high and extra-high tension lines, as a means to recuperate electricity, bringing it to surrounding towns, which otherwise would produce electricity from diesel generators.

His project, with support from the Eletrobras distribution company in Rondônia, in the Brazilian Amazon, was set up in the cities of Jaru and Itapuã. “From 2005 to 2010, the communities saved 80 million liters of diesel fuel, without affecting the performance of the power lines,” Ramos told Tierramérica.