IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - December 2017 - 77

activates associated production processes to cooling and freezing, that guarantees resources for the
operation of photovoltaic systems installed for power
supply at the school and refrigeration center. The committee arranges the activities inherent to service management, such as setting tariffs, training and involving
community leaders, accountability, financial management, etc. In Figure 4 one of the members of the committee is observed operating a refrigerator.
The energy cooperative model proposed and implemented offers the possibility to access electrical service
from renewable sources for all partners. The commitment
of the cooperative members is to ensure the sustainability of the project, and this is guaranteed with the resources obtained by the use of equipment powered by the solar
generation system. Technology transfer is a responsibility of University staff to the members of the community.
The entire process is supervised by the cooperative. Marketing of energy in these types of cooperatives is based
on the exchange of a service by a percentage of the profit generated by the use of this service, allowing modification of the financially viable energy model, for making
and promoting development in different economic sectors. These models have been successfully implemented
on projects in Germany and Spain, and allow decentralized and democratized access to this service [4].
The next step in the process was to train communities
in the technical, financial, and economic management of
the implemented solutions, allowing the social appropriation of knowledge and technology transfer to ensure
project sustainability. The Cooperative created in the
indigenous reserve Calle Santa Rosa is committed to:
1) Supervise the work of all the committees that are created for the operation of the generation system.
2) Determine the number of refrigerators intended for
marketing and intended for the community use.
3) Propose a minimum rate for cooling or freezing of
foods and beverages that are marketable.
4) Propose and implement mechanisms that allow improving the efficient collection of resources for commercial use of the refrigeration center.
5) Promote the use of refrigeration systems for purposes.
6) Present quarterly reports to the General Assembly on
the status of the refrigeration system in terms of technical and financial aspects.
To ensure proper operation of the installed systems,
one technical committee was created. Its members
were selected by the community and technically trained
by La Salle University. They are tasked with the following activities:
1) Operate and maintain refrigeration systems optimally
and according to program standards, and perform
preventive and corrective maintenance as established
by La Salle University.
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FIGURE 4. Community member operating the refrigeration

systems.

2) Develop daily, monthly, and annual reports to monitor the operation, maintenance, and administration
of the two solar systems installed, according to the
guide given by La Salle University.
3) Present quarterly reports to the General Assembly on
the technical system performance.
4) Receive suggestions and comments from community
member about the operation of the photovoltaic systems installed.
5) Run the necessary and appropriate actions in the
event of serious flaws, and support any technical
requirements that the community may have.
6) Ensure the quality and continuity of the installed
service.
Complementary to the actions of the cooperative
and the technical committee, an association was
formed in order to provide environmental and energy
sustainability to the community, and thus reduce, remedy, or mitigate some environmental impacts identified
in the project. This association was formed by community members who were trained by La Salle University to
perform environmental conservation activities, such as:
1) Develop daily, monthly and annual reports to monitor
the production of organic residual biomass.

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - December 2017