21 August 2012: The World Bank and the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, are working to implement the Tool for Rapid Assessment of City Energy (TRACE), which has been developed by the Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP). TRACE is designed to help cities identify energy efficiency opportunities by assessing six sectors: transportation, public lighting, buildings, power and heat, waste, and water and wastewater.

The ESMAP team worked with Belo Horizonte municipal government and utilities for three months in early 2012, assessing energy used by the city and proposing recommendations in the key sectors. The largest potential gains were identified in the transport sector, as well as the water utility, where an active detection system could minimize significant losses from leakage. The findings were published in May 2012, and presented to the city during the 2012 ICLEI World Congress in June 2012.

TRACE has already been deployed in 14 other cities around the world. Belo Horizonte will be the first city in Latin America to implement the tool. [ESMAP Press Release] [Publication: Energy Efficiency Opportunities in Belo Horizonte]