Press Release: An international School on Geothermics organised by ICS-UNIDO and ICTP

The International Centre for Science and High Technology of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (ICS-UNIDO) and the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) have jointly organised an international School on Geothermics, in Trieste (October 26 - November 7, 2009), which was attended by more than 50 scientists, fellows and experts from all over the world: almost half of them from the East African Region.  The School was co-sponsored by the International Geothermal Association, by the Italian Geothermal Union and by ENEL Greenpower, the branch of the Italian Electricity conglomerate specialised in renewable energy.

The School aimed at providing basic and advanced knowledge on the geothermal energy resources exploration and its application for power generation and/or direct use, by exposing participants to successful examples of geothermal projects through field visits to geothermal plants operated by ENEL in Tuscany (Larderello).

Geothermal power may play an important role in developing economies, because it can provide a stable and cheap base-load power supply and it can be exploited to serve small and isolated communities at a fraction of the cost required by the connection to the main electric grid.

The training programme jointly designed by ICS-UNIDO and ICTP, and implemented with the support and participation of renowned international experts, is expected to help scientists and professionals from developing countries and from countries in economic transition to enter the sector of geothermal energy and to understand all the key issues in the implementation of a geothermal project.

The participation in the School of scientists from the East African Region was strongly encouraged in the framework of a regional co-operation project for geothermal energy development in the area, jointly defined by ICS-UNIDO and by the Commission of the African Union, upon request of the eleven Governments of the countries pertaining to the region of the East African Rift System.  This project is following the procedure for funding by the European Commission and will be implemented by ICS-UNIDO in co-operation with the United Nations University - (Iceland) and by the Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (Germany).