ECREEE ORGANIZES CLOSING WORKSHOP FOR THE AGOSEREE-AO PROJECT

ECREEE is set to organize the closing workshop for AGoSEREE-AO (Project Improving the Governance of the Renewable Energy Sector and Energy Efficiency in West Africa), on 27 October 2021 in Praia, Cabo Verde.

The AGoSEREE-AO project which will come to an end on the 31 October 2021, is centered on -; a) to develop regional renewable energy corridors (solar, wind, and hydropower); b) to support ECOWAS Member States to create an environment favorable to renewable energies connected to the grid; c) develop regional standards on renewable energies and introduce them at national level; d) establish a regional certification system for renewable energy skills; e) provide technical assistance to the developers of renewable energy projects connected to the grid and disseminate the experiences acquired with existing projects; f) promote off-grid renewable energy solutions; and g) promote regional harmonized energy efficiency standards and labeling for electrical appliances and equipment and renewable energy components and equipment, as well as their national application. The project covers the 15 member states of ECOWAS and Mauritania.

The regional workshop to be held on 27^th October will enable stakeholders discuss AGoSEREE-AO’s outcomes in the four main components, 1. Grid-connected Renewable Energy, 2. Off-Grid Renewable Energy, 3. Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Standards ;  Regional Certification skills , and 4. Gender Mainstreaming.

Some of the achievements of the AGoSEREE-AO’s project within the components are:

Regional Standards

• Development and adoption by the ECOWAS Council of Ministers of the 3 regional standards on fans, television sets and electric water heaters.
• Development and adoption by the Council of Ministers and ECOWAS of 4 technical regulations of regional standards on efficient lighting, air conditioning and refrigerators, for mandatory application at the level of the 15 ECOWAS member states.
• Development of the Labelling Directive for electrical appliances and equipment.
• Development of Standards for installation, inspection of installations and inverters of PV mini-grids.

Certification Process

• Development and adoption of guidelines for the certification process, 7 job tasks analysis, 7 modules and 1 guide for training - trainers, etc.
• Development of Job task analysis for advanced solar systems (mini grids).
• Organization of 6 certification exams for installers of solar photovoltaic home systems in 5 ECOWAS member states, namely: Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal. To date, 70 installers (Men and Women) of domestic solar photovoltaic systems have been certified following various examinations.
• More than 20 partner institutions for training and examining organizations are involved in the certification process for the installation of solar photovoltaic home systems.

Gender Mainstreaming

• Strengthened capacities of members of the Gender Focal Units of selected Energy Ministries of the ECOWAS Countries (Benin and Togo). To ensure they can successfully assume their roles in their Ministries and in the implementation of Gender National Action Plan.
• The Female Solar PV installers scholarship programme enabled 21 Female installers in Senegal, Benin and Burkina Faso to benefit from the regional certification scheme, which acts as a professional guarantee in the regional solar labour market.
• Female developers/professionals and trainers were trained and strengthened on various fields: Clean energy Mini grids, development of wind projects, etc.

Renewable Energy grid-connected

• Development of 3 renewable energy corridor strategies (solar, hydroelectric, wind);
• Support to improve the environment conducive to RE connected to the network in 4 ECOWAS Member States;
• Capacity building for 6 promoters of renewable energy grid -connected projects in 6 ECOWAS member states
• Documentation and dissemination of experiences of Fasobiogaz in Burkina-Faso (275 MW gasification power plant), Sunbird in Sierra Leone, (15 MW biogas plant), Scaling Solar of the World Bank in Senegal, and Bui Power Authority's hydro hybrid solar power plant in Ghana.

Renewable Energy off-grid

• Support to improve the enabling environment for off-grid RE are in 3 respective ECOWAS Member States;
• Support to improve the enabling environment for the management of 79 off-grid RE mini-grids in 3 ECOWAS Member States;
• Capacity building for 58 developers and operators of clean energy mini-grids.

The objective of the closing workshop on the project is to present the results achieved in its implementation, the difficulties encountered and collect the observations of the participants as well as make recommendations.

The participants will include representatives of the ministries of energy, heads of the national standardization bodies, promoters of renewable energies, rural electrification agencies, the EU, GIZ, and other national, regional, and international institutions.