First Technical Committee meeting of the Regional Certification Scheme for Solar PV Installers

After three years of development of the Regional Certification Scheme (RCS) for solar PV installers, ECREEE has reached the stage where the RCS will become operational in eight pilot countries in 2018, before it is rolled-out to the remaining seven ECOWAS countries. The certificate for off-grid solar PV installers is the first certificate that will be issued under the ECOWAS Certification for Sustainable Energy Skills (ECSES) programme that will initially focus on installers of simple off-grid PV systems. However, the ECSES programme will gradually also cover installers of more complex off-grid and on-grid PV systems as well as other RE and EE professionals.

Before conducting the first exams in the eight pilot countries, the members of the Technical Committee (TC) of the RCS for solar PV installers will meet in Dakar on 9-10 July to comment on and validate a set of fundamental documents on the governance and operation of the RCS. This first meeting of the TC that will bring together about 25 experts from all ECOWAS Member States, Mauritania and representatives from ECREEE, GIZ and IRENA. This initiative is financed by the German Cooperation and the European Union.