Aldealix, an international pilot project to heat the village of Tresminas, was announced in January 2024, and the contract for the work was awarded by the Vila Pouca de Aguiar Council, in the district of Vila Real.

According to a statement released by the municipality, the first phase of the project, which includes connecting a dozen houses, was awarded for around €314,000, and the work is expected to take a year.

“The local community involved will be able to enjoy energy in return for payment for the raw materials, and the village space will operate on a condominium basis,” explains the local authority led by Social Democrat Ana Rita Dias.

The project aims to create a “model village” and “integrate biomass into the local production system”.

Tresminas, 16 kilometres from the county seat, Vila Pouca de Aguiar, has about 25 households, is a concentrated settlement, and has a very ageing population. It also has a public service, the interpretive centre of the mining complex.

Pioneering project

The project, described as “pioneering”, involves the municipality of Vila Pouca de Aguiar and the Galician Agency for Rural Development, and includes actions such as the “management and implementation of a biomass plant in Tresminas and the creation of a cross-border network to promote the use of energy with visibility”.

The total planned investment amounts to €422,000, of which €316,000 is financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the remainder is co-financed by the municipal council.

The local authority stated that the project aims to enhance and promote the use of forest resources for energy purposes, foster energy communities through a collaborative heating network, advance an ecological and energy transition adapted to climate change, and attract new residents to rural areas.

It also aims to contribute to the fight against climate change, the enhancement of forests and the prevention of forest fires.

The creation of this “model village”, which the municipality of Trás-os-Montes has named “Aldealix”, is part of a cross-border project that also involves another village in Arcos de Valdevez (Viana do

Castelo) and two Spanish villages in Monterrei and Cerdedo-Cotobade.