By Debra Kahn, E&E News reporter

"DAVIS, Calif. -- At a solar array in this Sacramento Valley university town, two dozen of sub-Saharan Africa's brightest young minds are looking for answers to their energy challenges.

The 100-degree summer heat didn't deter Nolubabalo Kwayimani from quizzing a SunPower Corp. employee on the 16-megawatt solar system, which supplies the University of California campus here. Along with questions about the specifics of the technology and the costs, she and others wanted to know how it would work with their specific topographies.

Does the plant displace farmland? (Yes, but they buy extra land for conservation.) How much water does it take to clean the panels? (A quarter of a liter per panel, four times per year.) How do they deal with plant growth around the panels? (Sheep, corralled by mild electric fencing.)

The tour is part of an Obama administration initiative that brings young African entrepreneurs, scholars and environmentalists to the United States in order to spur leadership in their home countries. More than 60 percent of Africans are younger than 35, and two out of three residents lack access to electricity, according to the State Department."

Read more at UC Davis News