The Energy Center of the College of Engineering, KNUST has held its 2nd International Solar Energy Expert’s workshop.

The workshop dubbed I-SEE 2012 was organized under the Solar Capacity Upgrading Project (SolarCUP), with support from the Africa Renewable Energy Programme (AFREA) of the World Bank.

The event was held from 29-31 May 2012, and brought together experts from over 13 countries, mostly from across Africa; and also Europe and America (University of Rochester).

Present at the workshop were participants from the private sector (Energiebau, Martifer Solar, Signik Solar, etc), electricity utilities (SONABEL of Burkina Faso and VRA of Ghana), government agencies and regional bodies (Energy Commission Ghana, ECREEE, African Union and ECOWAS Commission), academia, female engineering groups from KNUST and 2iE and the Ghana Institution of Engineers (GhIE), etc. Presentations were made by experts and discussions held on various themes, including: current developments in the RE sector in West Africa (policies and Projects), African Union initiatives on Higher Education, Solar PV and CSP research, private-sector initiatives and perspectives, etc.

The SolarCUP project under which the workshop was organized commenced in 2010. The overall objective was to upgrade the capacity of KNUST in Ghana and the International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering (2iE) in Burkina Faso, to serve as capacity-building nodes for the ECOWAS Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE). KNUST and 2iE were West African partners in the Renewable Energy Education Project (REEP) under the EDULINK programme of the EU-ACP Secretariat.

The welcome address for the workshop was delivered by Professor S.I.K Ampadu, Provost of the College of Engineering. Prof Ampadu recounted the crucial role that products of the College of Engineering played in the post-independence periods, when Ghana critically needed to equip its citizens to man sensitive national installations. He observed that the important role that energy plays in socio-economic development requires that institutions and researchers collaborate to come up with viable solutions to problems of technology, policy and business.

Delivering the keynote address, Mr. Amarquaye Amar, who is the Advisor to (His Excellency) the President of Ghana on energy, commended and recommended regional approach to addressing energy problems. He urged workshop participants to familiarize themselves with various ECOWAS policies and decisions on energy.

Concluding the 3-day session, Coordinator of SolarCUP at KNUST, Mr David Ato Quansah and the Director of TEC, Prof Abeeku Brew-Hammond took turns to thank participants for the rich expertise they shared and also expressed delight about the increased female participation at I-SEE 2012.

To read more about SolarCUP click here

To download the Speeches and Presentations from the workshop click here.

To download participant list and profiles click here.

To view pictures of the event click here.

If you are interested in partnering with TEC to organize future events, please contact

David Ato Quansah: email – daquansah.coe@knust.edu.gh, tel - +233266755479