More than 400 people participated in the 38th edition of Concapan, the annual convention of the IEEE community of Central America and Panama, held in El Salvador on November 7, 8, and 9. Within this framework, the Solar Energy Forum took place, featuring the plenary session “Learning Stories in Solar Energy Projects in Latin American Communities,” moderated by the director of SERC Chile, Rodrigo Palma, and where anthropologist Andrés Marconi, a member of the Ayllu Solar Communities team, presented.
This meeting featured six panelists from different Latin American countries and 45 attendees, with an agenda aimed at discussing and analyzing the challenges posed by the integration of solar solutions in Latin America, from technical, environmental, and social perspectives, as well as from the perspective of promoting community-level development.
One of the forum’s most significant conclusions is that while Latin America possesses operational and solar energy development capacity, there are barriers to eliminate regarding communities. The conclusion in this regard is that work must be done on expectation management, the financing model, and community commitment to the operation and maintenance of the solar technology solution implementation process.

2019 Goals
Oscar Núñez Mata, a professor at the University of Costa Rica and a member of the plenary session organizing committee, is also the coordinator of the R9 Solar Community, a virtual network of volunteers who exchange ideas and experiences regarding solar energy. Members of the IEEE and related institutions participate there, including some members of SERC Chile.
Oscar Núñez believes that within the framework of Concapan 2018, a new momentum was generated for this Solar Community and announces that in 2019 the emphasis will be on consolidating it. In fact, participation in the network will be promoted at the next IEEE R9 region meeting, to be held in Puebla, Mexico, in March 2019. The invitation was extended by Teófilo Ramos, IEEE R9 regional director, who participated in the Solar Energy Forum.

More information here.
Contact: oscar.nunezmata@ucr.ac.cr