Latin Americans targeting green energy
Mexico replacing refrigerators, bulbs
By Dean Calbreath, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Thursday, May 13, 2010 at 12:04 a.m.
A conclave of some of Latin America’s leading energy officials that ended Wednesday in La Jolla was tinged with green, with a number of talks focusing on how the shift to renewable power could help their countries gain more energy independence and extend their power grids into poor neighborhoods and rural areas.
The focus on renewables set this year’s event apart from previous years, said Jeffrey Davidow, president of the Institute of the Americas, which has hosted the Latin American Energy Conference for 19 years.
“There’s been increasing talk about green energy for several years, but this year it cut through most of our sessions,” Davidow said. “A number of countries, such as Panama, Chile and Brazil, have taken very important strides into renewable energy.”
In a keynote speech, Georgina Kessel, Mexico’s secretary of energy, stressed the importance of conservation, noting her country’s success with such programs as swapping out old, incandescent light bulbs or trading older, energy-draining refrigerators for new ones.
“We have to change the way we produce energy and the way we consume it,” Kessel said.
More:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/may/13/officials-targeting-shift-to-green-energy-for/