ECREEE-ECOWAS Clean Energy Capacity Building Project

1. CONTEXT / BACKGROUND

In 2018, West Africa’s installed power capacity shares depend on natural gas and oil according to the African Development Bank1. Yet access to energy remains an issue and hampers the socio-economic development efforts of the region. Indeed, in 2019, the World Bank estimated that the West African region had a 52% average access rate to electricity, meaning that 188 million people lacked access to electricity2. Along with having an impact on the environment, this dependence makes the energy supply and price volatility problematic. In addition, most West African nations experience power supply shortages of about 80 hours per month and businesses lose 5 to 10 percent of their revenue, according to the same World Bank analysis. As a result, electricity costs in certain West African nations are higher than 25 US cents per kilowatt hour, which is more than twice the world’s average.

Many West African countries are too small to attract investments in large power projects or lack energy resources altogether. Instead, they rely on small-scale expensive oil-fired power generation or emergency rainfall plants. 6.3 % of the region’s electricity is traded among the ten countries already connected.

The role of public-private partnerships (PPPs), in addressing the region’s power deficit is crucial. The level of investment needed in electricity access-related Projects requires an improvement of the investment framework, market transparency, and regional cooperation4.
Moreover, integrated power trade in the region could lead to cost savings of USD 5 to 8 billion per year by enabling countries to import cheaper sources of electricity. If adopted, the integrated power trade may also reduce the intensity of Carbon Dioxide emissions increase access to affordable, dependable, and modern energy the World Bank estimates.

Decentralised renewable energy systems are also essential to respond to home energy demands and powering important public institutions, such as healthcare and educational facilities, which are at the core of socio-economic development, for the African Development Bank which highlights that: “Africa needs to maintain a balanced energy mix to manage short-term energy security and build long-term trajectories that reconcile achieving low GHG [Green House Gas] emissions with meeting key objectives for the well-being of its population

2. MAIN ACTIVITIES & IMPLEMENTATION APPROACH

• Development by the consultant firm of a toolkit, which addresses regulatory aspects applicable to the renewable energy sector and BESS in English, French and Portuguese,;
• Organisation of the Training of Trainers for the fifteen (15) ECOWAS Member States;
• Organisation of a capacity building session of the energy institutions of the ECOWAS Commission (ECREEE, West African Power Pool, ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERERA) and the Energy Directorate)).

3. ACHIEVED OUTPUTS (If the project is ongoing)

• Recruitment of the legal firm to develop the training materials and conduct training; and
• A Call for Application from potential trainees to be selected to participate in a Training-of-Trainers program has been launched.