African Energy Solutions

More than 180 renewable energy experts from Africa and beyond attended a major solar and renewable energy conference in Cameroon to address the acute energy problem in Africa while preserving and protecting the environment.

The meeting, titled "ANSOLE DAYS 2012", was organized by the African Network for Solar Energy (ANSOLE), a year after the network was established with strong support from many international research institutes, including ICTP. The theme of this year's conference, ANSOLE's first, was "Solar Energy for Sustainable Development", and the programme provided ample opportunities for researchers to learn and to network.

"The meeting was focussed not only on pure science, but also on applications such as how solar energy can help with rural electrification," said Ralph Gebauer, a solar energy researcher with ICTP's Condensed Matter and Statistical Physics section. He explained that the importance of the ANSOLE meeting, and indeed of the network itself, is that it is an African initiative with representatives from all regions of Africa involved.

ANSOLE aims to foster research activities in the field of solar energy among African scientists working in and out of Africa.

In the long-run, the network hopes to facilitate the exchange of ideas between students and scientists involved in solar energy research, formulate joint project proposals, put out joint publications, organize workshops and implement a graduate programme on solar energy.

Visit the ANSOLE website for more information.