Powering Renewables: Women in Solar Energy
The International Solar Energy Society envisions a world with 100% renewable energy for everyone used wisely and efficiently and one of the biggest steps towards achieving this goal is the empowerment of women working in solar research, development and the solar industries.
As the largest international solar organization worldwide, ISES is committed to equality and sees it as one of the integral pillars to a successful energy transition. Women have held leading positions within ISES, as presidents, board members and team members - working as engineers, researches, developers they have shaped the ISES profile and together with their colleagues contributed to the success of ISES on a global scale.
This technical and engaging webinar on women in solar energy will be the first of a two-part series on this topic ISES. In the October webinar, the invited speakers will talk about their careers, personal experiences working in solar energy, running solar businesses and founding new networks. This webinar will also introduce the Global Women's Network for the Energy Transition and the IRENA Gender Study collecting data on gender and renewable energy - the results of this survey together with a new set of speakers will follow up as the second installment of this webinar topic in early 2019.
The aim of this webinar is to highlight the perspective of women working in solar energy, their professional as well as personal experience, their achievements and to demonstrate that a successful energy transformation can only be achieved when renewables become powered by equality!
The webinar is free for all to attend and the recording of the webinar as well as the webinar presentations will be publicly accessible for a few days after the webinar. Umlimited access to all ISES webinars and the presentations is an exclusive membership benefit for ISES members - find out more here!
Webinar presentations
Speakers
Anne Grete Hestnes
Anne Grete Hestnes is an architect educated at M.I.T and UC Berkeley and professor emeritus at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
In 2002, Anne Grete was the first woman elected to become ISES president.
Her main scientific focus is in the areas of energy conservation and the use of solar energy in buildings. In 2005, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by Chalmers University for her work within the field of sustainable development, and in 2011 she received The Farrington Daniels Award for her contribution to the advancement and knowledge of solar energy in the built environment. During its first three years of operation (2009-2012) she was director of the National Centre for Environment-friendly Energy Research – Zero Emission Buildings.
Christine Lins
Christine Lins has been on the ISES Board of Directors since 2018. In 2017, she co-founded the Global Women's Network for the Energy Transition, which aims at empowering women in the sustainable energy sector.
Christine herself has worked in the renewable energy sector for over twenty years: graduating with a masters' degree in international economics, she began her career at a regional Austrian energy agency, working on projects on renewable energy and energy efficiency. From there, Christine transferred to the European Renewable Energy Council in Brussels. In 2011, Christine was appointed as Executive Secretary of REN21 and convinced that more gender balance is needed to help advance sustainable energy, in 2017, she co-founded the Global Women's Network for the Energy Transition.
Christine Lins will introduce the GWNET, speak about her personal and professional experiences working in renewable energy and moderate this webinar.
Nicole Marais
Nicole Marais is the co-founder of Timbuktu Holdings, a company focusing on power products and solutions in Africa. She currently lives and works in Zambia, where the company works as an EPC contractor in the renewable energy space. Although Zambia’s renewables market is in a very early market stage, the company has managed to secure and execute contracts in the utility, off-grid and commercial solar space.
Prior to this, Nicole has worked in the commercial microfinance, as well as SAAS/ IT industry in West Africa, largely focusing on bringing innovative concepts to new, and often highly unstructured markets. She completed her studies in Frankfurt/ Main, Germany (Business Administration), but was soon after drawn back to Africa, where she had grown up.