A total of 20 trainees from 12 countries are attending a workshop on the use of solar energy in Lanzhou, capital of northwest China's Gansu Province.

Among the trainees are energy officials, business executives and technicians from Asian and African countries including Indonesia, Iran, Sudan, Cameroon and Nigeria, said Xi Wenhua, director of the Gansu Natural Energy Research Institute, Thursday.

The institute has organized the workshop in collaboration with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

"During the 20-day program that began on Wednesday, the trainees will learn about solar energy technology through lectures and field visits," said Xi. "Chinese energy specialists will help them in solar energy research, equipment design, utilization and maintenance."

Gansu is China's cradle of solar energy development and Xi's institute, founded in 1978, has been organizing international workshops since 1991, training more than 860 people from 106 countries in total.

"We have the obligation to share the state-of-the-art technologies with other developing countries," he said. "It's also China's contribution to combating climate change."

It is the second time for Minlongue Gwogon Daniel, an engineer from Cameroon, to attend the training in China. "I was here in 2008 and was deeply impressed."

The developing countries had "great expectations" of solar energy application, but there was still a lack of policies backing its development, he said.

The Chinese government stresses the use of clean energy and has adopted preferential polices in favor of solar energy nationwide, especially in remote western areas which have ample sunshine and, as yet, underdeveloped power industries.

(Xinhua News Agency June 24, 2010)