Expert tasks African scientists on solar energy

African scientists have been asked to take more positive steps to explore the enormous benefits of solar energy.

An expert on Solar Energy, Professor Niyazi Serdar Sarciftci of Johannes Kepler University, Linz Austria, gave the advice in a keynote paper he presented at an International Conference on Solar Energy Revolution in Nigeria and Africa, at the Godfrey Okoye University, Enugu.

Sarciftci noted that there was enormous solar energy in Africa due to the sunshine but regretted that Africans were not exploring the resources.

The expert who described solar power as peaceful, unlike nuclear power which he noted was prone to attacks, urged the people to utilise effectively, the benefits of solar energy.

The Vice-Chancellor of Godfrey Okoye University Enugu, Professor Christian Anieke, while declaring the two-day international conference, called on Nigerian scientists to seek ways to overcome the challenges of solar energy storage and the high cost of acquiring solar energy facilities.

Anieke noted that understanding and use of solar energy would help solve many problems in Africa.

The Vice-Chancellor noted with appreciation, that the government had decentralised Energy generation and distribution and commended the Enugu State governor for keying into the programme.

He expressed dismay, at the presence of fake solar energy products in the market and urged the participants to find solutions to problems and reduce the import of energy facilities.

The international conference on solar energy was attended by scholars from different parts of the world and Nigerian tertiary institutions.