ISSUE 42: JUNE-AUGUST 2006

The newsletter of United Nations University and its international 
network of research and training centres/programmes

FRONT PAGE | ARCHIVE |


Geothermal programme takes its show on the road

UNU Geothermal Training Programme (UNU-GTP) is expanding its capacity building activities with a series of annual workshops/short courses in geothermal development in selected countries in Africa (started last year), Central America (this year) and Asia (probably starting next year).

Funded by the government of Iceland as part of its contribution towards the UN Millennium Development Goals, the  courses/workshops are being set up in cooperation with energy agencies, utilities and earth science institutions responsible for finding, developing and operating geothermal energy resources in the respective regions.

One of the objectives of the initiative is to increase cooperation between specialists in the respective countries in the field of sustainable use of geothermal resources. The courses could develop into sustainable regional geothermal training centres.

The first event in Africa – a workshop for decision makers on geothermal projects and their management – was held in Kenya in November last year with participants from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. It was co-hosted by UNU-GTP and the Kenyan Elelctricity Generating Authority (KenGen) and organized in co-operation with United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Icelandic International Development Agency (ICEIDA).

The second workshop, to beheld in Kenya in November, will focus on surface exploration for geothermal resources and cover geological, geophysical and geochemical exploration methods. As in the first event, most of the lecturers will be former UNU Fellows from Kenya plus four lecturers from the UNU-GTP. The UNU-GTP has 88 graduates in 10 African countries.

The first event in Central America – a workshop for decision makers on geothermal projects in Central America – will be held in Costa Rica in November and will be co-hosted by the UNU-GTP and the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE). The 25 invited participants will be energy decision makers and geothermal specialists in the countries of Central America. 

The aim of the workshop is to give high level decision makers from energy ministries, geothermal agencies and electric utilities in the region an overview of some of the key issues of geothermal development, with a special focus on environmental issues. Lecturers will include former UNU Fellows from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua plus three regular lecturers from UNU-GTP. Lecturers will also be invited from Kenya, Philippines, USA, and Mexico. UNU-GTP has 46 graduates in six Latin American countries.

East Africa's geothermal countries join forces
Six East African countries with good geothermal potential have decided to join forces and increase their cooperation in geothermal research and development by forming the African Rift Geothermal Facility (ARGeo).
UNU-GTP will play a leading role in guiding and implementing the capacity building component of ARGeo, which came into being following the UNU-GTP workshop in Kenya last November. Invited participants at the event included high-level decision makers from five ARGeo countries – Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda – as well as lecturers from Ethiopia, Iceland, Kenya and the Philippines. Representatives of each ARGeo country presented a priority project from their countries.

FRONT PAGE

© 2006  United Nations University