ECREEE Clocks Eleven with Excellent Improvements in the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Sectors

ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) celebrates eleven years of excellent service to the ECOWAS community and beyond. ECREEE was established by the Authority of Heads of State of ECOWAS in response to the energy crisis faced by millions of West African citizens. Since its inauguration in 2010, ECREEE took a bold initiative in collaboration with donor partners as well as ministries of energy in member countries to strive to reduce the daunting energy deficit and promote renewable energy and energy efficiency in the region.

ECREEE has four priority areas of intervention and these include: Development of policies, Legal and Regulatory frameworks; Capacity Development; Awareness Raising and Knowledge Management and Project Development and Investment Promotion. The eleventh year anniversary of ECREEE will take the form of a stakeholder consultation and study tour to renewable energy installations in Cape Verde Island of Santiago from 6th to 8th July 2021. The theme for the anniversary is “Celebrating our achievement and reaffirming our common commitment to energy transition for a climate-friendly socio-economic growth in West Africa” It would be recalled that regional sustainable energy policies developed in recent years by ECREEE have enabled the ECOWAS Member States to define a common vision for increased use of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, small-scale hydro and biomass for electricity generation and other energy services (clean cooking) as well as adopting energy efficiency technologies.

ECREEE has spearheaded the push towards building the necessary enabling environment for the uptake of a robust sustainable energy market to ensure that regional sustainable energy targets are attained by 2030. After 11 years of operations, stakeholders should take stock of ECREEE´s contributions to sustainable energy development in West Africa, by providing an outlook and set an agenda for the next decade.

The study tour aims to facilitate knowledge exchange and sharing of experience and best-practices in off-grid and grid-connected sub-sectors of renewable energies and other low carbon energy technologies. The tour will also showcase investment opportunities in the ECOWAS Member States through public-private partnerships. During the program, ECREEE management will present its work program including their collaboration with key partners such UNDP, GIZ, UNIDO, GGGI. The eleventh anniversary is expected to bring together high-level representatives from governments including Ministers, Directors of Energy of Burkina Faso, Senegal, Nigeria, Mali, and Niger. It will also include regional and international development partners, regional and international private sector players, financial institutions, academia and research and civil society representatives.