The creation of the R9 solar community of the IEEE, which corresponds to Latin America and the Caribbean, started as an idea from Universidad de Chile and is already proving to be successful.
The proposal here is to create a virtual network of volunteers, from IEEE or similar institutions, to exchange ideas and experiences in regards to solar energy. Some members of SERC Chile actively participate in this community.
At the moment, there are clear signs of becoming members of the solar community from Chile, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Argentina, El Salvador, Panama and Uruguay. Also, it is expected that other countries become part of it too in order to create a space for exchange of experiences to encourage the sustainable development through the use of solar energy at a communal level.
The first tool for exchange is the webpage, which is monitored by Universidad de Chile, with information about the community, news and event alerts about congresses, forums, seminars, etc.
The solar community was launched in the past convention 2016 IEEE XXXVI Concapan, which took place in San Jose, Costa Rica, through a plenary session called “Opportunities and challenges for the integration of solar energy in the Latin American communities.”
The dissertation from that session is available to download from the webpage under Publications. Under the option Project, you could find initiatives of system applications using solar energy in communities: Huatacondo, in Tarapaca Region, Chile, and Ayllu Solar, in the Arica y Parinacota region, Chile.
The webpage also takes the perspective of native peoples in regards to the sun, and what it represents to them from a point of view of cosmology and beliefs.