• Submitted by: admin
• Science and Technology
• 01 / 28 / 2007

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By Orlando Guevara Nunez

The Energy Globe, the world award for sustainability, was granted to the Renewable Energy Laboratory at the University of Oriente in Santiago de Cuba, in recognition of its efforts to find solar alternatives for energy generation.

The annual international prize, sponsored by the United Nations, the European Council of Renewable Energy, the World Bank and other international institutions, honors environmentally-friendly energy projects.

Physicist Jorge Bonzon Henriquez, who heads the Applied Renewable Energy Group (GERA), said the Santiago project consists of a laboratory for evaluating solar heaters, photovoltaics, driers, stoves and water purifiers, equipped with sensors and the latest technology capable of highly accurate analysis.

Bonzon said that, currently, Cuban institutions must import such technologies, which sometimes do not meet the climatic requirements of the country or the specific conditions of the place were they are to be installed.

The Energy Globe jury, headquartered in Germany, recognized the importance of the project and the benefits of its application.