Remote Vila Restauração in northwest Brazil now has 24/7 power, thanks to the installation of a solar plus storage microgrid.

The project by Brazilian energy distributor Energisa and its distributed generation subsidiary Alsol Energias Renováveis and the international technology company Ingeteam included the installation of 600 solar PV panels and a bank of batteries along with the respective inverters, as well as two biodiesel generators and a control system.

Previously the 750-inhabitant village relied on a diesel generator providing three to four hours of power per day.

During the day the PV system provides electricity to the village as well as charges the batteries, which are then available for supply during the nighttime hours.

When it is cloudy and there is insufficient charge in the batteries, the system automatically switches to the biodiesel generators, to ensure an uninterrupted supply and that the batteries are recharged.

Vila Restauração is located in the northwestern Brazilian state of Acre, close to the border with Peru. It is considered one of the most remote locations in the country, with the only access by boat taking up to 10 hours.

As such, the delivery of the solar and other equipment required careful logistical planning.

The electrification is expected to transform life in the village, opening up new business opportunities and for example improving the storage of items such as foodstuffs and medicines.

The project was undertaken as part of Energisa’s R&D activities, as required by the regulator Aneel. Its distribution subsidiary Energisa Acre is the local distributor.

The company is monitoring the system remotely to track its operation and also to receive early alerts of problems or possible maintenance requirements.

In addition to the electricity supply, Energisa entered a partnership with the mobile operator TIM to provide internet to the residents of Vila Restauração and the village was fitted with the first 4G antenna in the region.

The government in Kenya has picked Kilifi and Kwale as the two sites best suited for their nuclear energy production ambitions.

After years of pre-feasibility studies, the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPea) has picked Kilifi, a coastal Kenyan town, and Kwale, located southwest of Mombasa, as best suited for Kenya’s first nuclear power generator due to the region’s abundance of water and space.

NuPea director of nuclear energy infrastructure development Eric Ohaga said construction works will begin in 2030. While a test run is scheduled for 2034 with full operations set for 2036.

Kenya has been gradually undertaking regulatory reforms on nuclear energy and radioactive substances. In 2019, the country enacted the Nuclear Regulatory Act that also sets up the Kenya Nuclear Regulatory Authority (KNRA).

The government plans to follow in South Korea’s footsteps by targeting 95% of its construction vendors from foreign sources. ”That arrangement means the vendor comes with expertise. They provide everything. They come, build, operate then transfer. Just a normal arrangement that is happening in the Express Way,” Ohanga said.

He estimated the construction budget to be $50 million which will be determined after the final feasibility study.

NuPea Chief Executive Collins Juma said that nuclear power generation will enhance electricity reliability in Kenya since the plant is expected to run uninterrupted for 24 months.

The 2021 Energy and Petroleum Statistics Report released in February showed 92.3% of electricity in Kenya was generated from renewable sources in 2020. Geothermal, hydro and wind power sources accounted for 43.6%, 36.5% and 11.5% of electricity, respectively. Only 6.5% of total electricity in 2020 was generated from thermal sources.

NuPea Director Strategy and Planning Winnie Ndubai said the government could choose to explore the potential market in neighbouring countries which are a step behind in setting up their own nuclear plants. This, she said, would help in optimising nuclear power in the country while justifying the overall cost just as is done in Europe.

To facilitate cross border nuclear energy sales, Ndubai suggests there is a need for clear laws within the region to address any anticipated jurisdiction conflict. South Africa is the only African country with an operating nuclear power plant, which has been operational since 1984.

Heritage Minister Nigel Huddleston has today launched a call for the UK’s next nominations for UNESCO World Heritage Status.

Open to sites in the UK, Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies, nominations are reviewed every ten years and is a chance for sites to receive international recognition for the important role they have played in the world’s history.

The successful sites could join the UK’s 33 other UNESCO World Heritage Sites including Stonehenge, Saltaire, The Tower of London and Hadrian’s Wall.

Last year the Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales was the most recent UK location to receive UNESCO status. 2021 also saw the City of Bath – originally named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987 – awarded a special dual designation with 11 other European Spa towns including Baden-Baden in Germany and Vichy in France.

Heritage Minister Nigel Huddleston said: UNESCO World Heritage Status has a transformative impact on places bestowed with this honour.

As well as international acclaim, UNESCO status boosts tourism and creates employment and economic growth opportunities.

The UK and Overseas Territories have many potential contenders and I can’t wait to see what fantastic sites and stories we uncover in our search.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) will form an independent panel of heritage experts to review nominations.

Nominations will be assessed against rigorous criteria and only locations with the potential to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List will be put forward to formal nomination.

Atop an idyllic hill in the Italian Riviera sits a tiny village with a big dream: becoming an independent nation.

The Principality of Seborga already has its own flag, national anthem, passports, stamps, currency and, of course, a monarch. It hopes to one day back them up with legal recognition of its sovereignty, which it has been seeking since the 1960s.

For now, however, Seborga is simply a picturesque hamlet in the northern Italian province of Imperia, close to France, with just over 300 residents and covering about five square miles of land.

The road that leads up to town has an unofficial border crossing, complete with a sentry box painted in the colors of Seborga’s flag, which on occasion is manned by self-proclaimed border guards.

Beautifully positioned, Seborga gets stunning views of the Riviera below, including the Principality of Monaco — perhaps the world’s most famous microstate and an inspiration for Seborga’s continued quest for independence.

“The lawyers are working on it,” says Her Serene Highness Princess Nina of Seborga, “that’s why I got elected Princess.”

In Seborga, where the monarchy is not hereditary, elections take place every seven years and Princess Nina is the first woman to hold the post.

Born in Germany, Nina Döbler Menegatto was living in Monaco when she discovered Seborga 15 years ago with her ex-husband and former prince, Marcello I, who abdicated in 2019.

“Initially I thought the whole story was quite funny and I didn’t take it seriously,” she says about Seborga’s claim to independence, “but then I read into it and it’s all true.”

The claim originates in the early 1960s when Giorgio Carbone, who ran a local co-op of flower farmers, looked into the town’s history and found that something was amiss.

Seborga was donated to Benedictine monks in the year 954, until they sold it in 1729 to the Kingdom of Sardinia, which would later become part of the Kingdom of Italy. But, according to Carbone, there is no historical record of the sale, which means Seborga was never legitimately part of Italy at all.

“It is difficult to think that, almost 300 years later, this absence of documentation is a realistic basis on which to build a legal recognition,” says Graziano Graziani, an Italian expert on micronations. “However, the community that believes in the independence of Seborga bases its demands precisely on it.”

Both the Italian Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights have previously rejected Seborga’s bid, but the princess is undeterred. “It’s obviously not an easy case,” she says. “It won’t happen today or tomorrow, but nothing is impossible: look at Brexit.”