Projects

Short Description:

Overall goal

The overall objective of ECREEE as was defined in its first business plan is to contribute to the sustainable economic, social and environmental development of West Africa by improving access to modern, reliable and affordable energy services, energy security and reduction of energy related externalities (GHG, local pollution). More specifically, ECREEE aims to create favorable framework conditions for regional renewable energy and energy efficiency markets by supporting activities directed to mitigate existing technological, financial, economic, business, legal, policy, institutional, knowledge and capacity related barriers.

The mandate of ECREEE is to lead the ECOWAS region in achieving the regional sustainable energy goals and policies that have been adopted my member states (Annex 1: ECOWAS Clean Energy Policy Agenda). Therefore, ECREEE’s interventions going forward will build on previous achievements and focus on promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency in West Africa. ECREEE's strategic plan 2017-2021 provides a strategic agenda for ECREEE, focused on leading the efforts of the West African Community to realize ist vision of universal access to reliable and affordable energy by 2030.

Expected results

Over the 2nd business plan period, ECREEE aims to become the "go to Institution" for RE and EE in West Africa. It will support the government, private sector as well as other stakeholders in developing and implementing concrete projects on the ground in West Africa. After a strong focus on creating a supportive policy framework in all member states over the first business plan period, the previously 15 large-scale regional programmes will continue with a new structure and more emphasis on implementation aspects.

ECREEE will take the lead in thinking about the region’s energy future, with special emphasis on supporting the ECOWAS Community to address the key barriers to development and adoption of clean energy and energy efficiency technologies.

In addition, ECREEE, over the plan period, will place emphasis on promoting investments in concrete renewable energy and energy efficiency projects to augment energy access in the region.

Based on this strategic plan 2017-2021, annual workplans will define ECREEE's activities, partnerships and expected outcomes each year.

Target group / Beneficiaries

ECREEE works with a number of international, regional and national Stakeholders to the benefit of the whole ECOWAS region and its 15 member states. The contribution to the strategic plan enables the staff of roughly 30 people to implement the strategic plan and annual work plans. ECREEE cooperates with the 15 ECOWAS member states through National Focal Institutions in each of them, and offers numerous capacity building measures which benefit several hundreds of public and private sector representatives as well as civil society actors from the region. All technical programmes are implemented on a regional level as well as in pilot countries, which have a multiplier effect on all member states. The data observatory ECOWREX and all of ECREEE's tools and studies are accessible to the whole ECOWAS population and beyond. The Austrian Development Cooperation, the Spanish Development Cooperation and UNIDO are core partners of ECREEE. Numerous project partnerships exist with bilateral and multilateral donor agencies and specialised technical organisations, such as the EU, GIZ, WB, AfDB, OFID, USAID and others.

Activities

The interventions of ECREEE will concentrate on RE and EE, with an emphasis on facilitating the implementation of concrete on the ground projects.

The RE program will include three overarching components: (i) Clean Energy Corridors, (ii) Regional stand-alone Off Grid Electrification, and (iii) Regional Mini-Grid Rural Electrification. The ECOWAS Renewable Energy Policy (EREP) aims to increase the share of RE in the region’s overall electricity mix. The goal is to reach 35% in 2020 and 48% in 2030. Within the RE program, ECREEE will aim to build the technical, political and institutional requirements to ensure there is a conducive environment to achieve the community goals. Additionally, ECREEE will serve as a catalyst and facilitate investment in various technologies, including solar, wind, hydro and bioenergy.

The EE program will implement measures aimed at freeing up 2,000 MW of power generation capacity. The program will include seven overarching components: (i) Regional EE standards and labeling, with implementation at national level, (ii) EE in industry, (iii) EE in buildings, (iv) EE in lighting, (v) Clean cooking fuels and stoves, (vi) High Performance Distribution of Electricity, and (vii) EE in transportation.

Context

ECREEE was established in 2010 in response to the energy poverty crisis faced by the West Africa region, and the need to mitigate the effects of climate change. It was a strategic decision by West African leaders —under the auspices of the ECOWAS Commission— to strive to reduce the daunting energy deficit and to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency in the region.

In 2011, ECREEE formulated its first Business Plan for 2011-2016, which was successfully implemented. Based on a thorough strategic evaluation of this implementation and a series of recommendations given, the new Strategic Plan 2017-2021 was developed.