ACCIONA's corporate foundation, acciona.org, and Action Against Hunger have developed a new digital tool which allows international humanitarian aid organizations, completely free of charge, to measure and design renewable energy solutions for their onsite operations and for humanitarian emergencies. 

REact (Renewable Energy for Assisting Communities Tool) is now fully available and consists of a free-access website and mobile platform to estimate energy needs in humanitarian contexts and guide organizations’ decision-making to meet those needs through solar energy. 

The platform has been tested with nearly 300 energy assessment and sustainable solution design projects as well as two pilot projects that are already underway: in Mauritania, clean electricity is provided to a primary school through a photovoltaic plant; in Colombia, mobile solar devices are used for medical teams traveling to remote areas, replacing the usual reliance on power generators and gasoline. 

acciona.org and Action Against Hunger’s technical teams have combined their experience in universal energy access and humanitarian action to develop this solution. The European Union's Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO) has co-financed the project due to its innovation and large scope.

Energy is a basic requirement for all stages of humanitarian response. As such, the use of renewable energy has a significant impact: it reduces damage to the environment and limits the overexploitation of natural resources; it empowers communities by providing sustainable livelihoods; and it minimizes the risk of disease from environmental pollution caused by fossil fuels. 

EVALUATION AND DESIGN OF SOLUTIONS

To ensure that REact meets the true needs of humanitarian actors in the field, its design was carried out in a collaborative way, with the contributions of 170 people from 40 global humanitarian organizations who volunteered to shared their experience, knowledge and vision. The software was developed with the technical expertise of the Madrid Polytechnic University’s Technical School of Telecommunications Engineering, while the Spanish Solar Energy Institute verified calculations and algorithms. 

REact has two modules. The first evaluates the various energy needs of humanitarian operations in their traditional sectors (education, medical services, etc.) based on intuitive questionnaires, accessible even for non-specialists in energy.  The second module offers solar-based alternatives to meet demand, comparing the costs, duration and environmental impact of fossil fuel-based and renewable energy-based solutions.

REact has been shortlisted as one of the best Aid Innovation Challenges at AidEx 2024 (the leading global humanitarian aid event). It also won silver in Fast Company’s Anthem Awards for the Best Use of Technology and the Social Innovation Award from the Spanish Association of Foundations.