01 February 2012
Twenty countries have confirmed their participation for the 2nd Asia-Arab Sustainable Energy Forum (2AASEF) scheduled for 15-16 May 2012 in Oran, Algeria.
Amine Boudghene Stambouli, president of the AASEF, said that a dozen Arab countries and much of Asia have reaffirmed their interest in the next forum, which is dedicated to energy development, environmental protection and regional cooperation for sustainable development. The forum, initiated by the University of Science and Technology "Boudiaf" Oran (USTO), also includes the 4th international workshop on the Sahara Solar Breeder (SSB), an Algerian-Japanese project for the development of photovoltaic (PV) solar technologies.
Stambouli, professor in the USTO Electrical Engineering Facultf, is the scientific manager (Algerian side) of a project launched in January 2011 in partnership with a consortium of six universities and two Japanese agencies: Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST). Stambouli states that the call for papers has been launched for the forum, attracting interest from a dozen Japanese and Algerian experts and researchers from different universities, while other papers are expected by 15 February 2012, the deadline for submission of full-length papers.
Japan's participation will be marked by the presence of representatives specialising in the development of silicon from the sand and desalination technologies. The Algerian solar industry will be represented by large companies including Sonatrach and Sonelgaz, along with specialised organisations such as the Centre for Renewable Energy Development (CDER), Unit Development of solar technologies (UDTS) and the Development Unit of Solar Equipment (UDES).
The "Sahara Solar Breeder" (SSB) workshop is scheduled at the University of Saida. SSB is an experimental solar farm platform which should allow, in 2015, the flow of solar energy from the South to regions in the north of the country to power the desalination of sea water.
Toward this goal, USTO is creating a centre for research on solar technologies, while the Centre for Research on solar in Adrar is developing a technology platform for the construction of photovoltaic cells and the use of its energy.
The 2AASEF has officially been placed under the patronage of the President of the Algerian Republic Abdelaziz Bouteflika. The first edition Asia-Arab Sustainable Energy Forum took place in Nagoya, Japan on 23-25 August 2011 with 120 people from 10 countries, along with research groups from Chubu University, the University of Tokyo and the Tokyo Institute of Technology.
