Introduction

The small rural village of Varese Ligure with its 2400 inhabitants was the first local authority in Liguria to install two 0.75 MW wind power generators. Varese is a small rural local authority in the region of Liguria, in Italy. 95% of the land of the rural local authority has not been built on and is covered by forests.

Objectives and target audience

The local authority of Varese Ligure is close to its target which is to become 100% renewable and 100% organic. A comprehensive programme of sustainable development was put in place to achieve self-sufficiency through the promotion of renewable energy sources and through energy efficiency.
Within the energy framework, the objectives are the following:

• Promotion of renewable energy sources: the focus is on wind (two windpower generators with a capacity of 2 millions kWh/year will soon be installed), solar (a third solar photovoltaic installation on the public wastewater treatment station is scheduled) and biomass technologies.
• Promotion of energy efficiency: focus on biomass: the authorities are promoting the use of pellet boilers by encouraging local production of pellets as a means of generating income and contributing to forestry maintenance.
• Awareness-raising: One of the main actions is the participation in the EU project for schools called FEE (Force Energetique par les Enfantes), to raise the awareness of pupils, families and local stakeholders on energy issues (energy saving and renewable sources) and to the environment in general.
• The wind farm was financed by EU and regional funds (30%) as well as by private

Financial Resources and Partners involved

investments (60%) for a total of €1,800,00. The PV installation was funded by regional and
local funds (€155,000).
The strategy is managed by the City Council under the direct supervision of its mayor, who is supported, as far as the environmental certification aspects are concerned (periodical audits), by an ad hoc committee.

Process

The local authority is now completely self-sustainable as far as electricity is concerned thanks to two wind power generators able to produce 4 million kWh/year and two photovoltaic plants with a capacity of 23.000 kWh/year and meets 98% of the municipal building needs. In addition, 39 PV panels have been installed on a school that produces 4600 kWh. Other two wind power generators with a capacity of 2 millions kWh/year will soon be installed. The establishment of these plants brings also about a considerable CO2 reduction (approximately 9600 kg/year).

Results

The strategy will result in an improvement of the environment and health protection, more
security, comfortable lives and higher standards of living.
The ISO 14001 and EMAS certifications have been key to raise the village’s environmental
awareness and to promoting it outside its boundaries.
In January 2004, at the European conference on renewable energy in Berlin, the local authority received the award of “Best rural EU-local authority for the promotion of renewable energy”.

Critical Success Factors / Challenges