7/15/2015 - Power-Gen Africa Day 1

We had breakfast before getting to the introductory session this morning, which consisted of long, boring speeches.  There was a coffee break and we got coffee at the tech expo. The others took off to meet companies and see the expo, and I stayed (I needed coffee this morning).  A few minutes later, I was joined by some gentlemen. We began talking and I soon learned one was from the Swaziland Electricity Corporation and another was from the Ministry of Energy in Swaziland. I told them all about our trip and our purpose in Swaziland, the experiences we have been having, and what we hope to do and how we hope to connect in future projects. They were both hesitant but friendly. The man from the ministry of energy was shocked to hear we had any trouble getting in touch with the government, and insisted on giving me his business card, promising he knew the US ambassador quite well and we should have no trouble in future. I thanked both of them for their contact information and hurried to find everyone else.  

  

The first plenary session was a little better (after a brief coffee break) in which some company representatives, policy representatives (from African countries and the US) and others discussed how to answer the need for power in Africa. We noticed that the focus was on meeting the demands for power and distribution; no one seemed to emphasize the need to cut back, to conserve, to teach people and communities how to focus on not wasting energy. 

After the lunch provided by the conference, we took off to change into PJs and relax for the afternoon.  We were exhausted from always being on the go nonstop and needed a break.  When we convened for dinner, we decided to try the Twankey bar, recommended to us by a few different people for some food and craft beer. During dinner, we brainstormed ideas for future plans in bringing solar power to Swaziland in the future and talked about possible barriers and solutions and contacts and roles.