With electricity demand increasing in the ECOWAS region, renewable energy technologies hold promise to provide the necessary energy generation and fill the demand and supply gap currently existing. In renewable energy as in other sectors, private-sectors are often best placed to identify local needs and create tailor-made solutions. In this sense the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) launched a solar PV market (ProsPER) initiative in 2011, for “Promoting Sustainable Market for Solar Photovoltaic Systems in the ECOWAS Region.”
In order to accelerate the implementation of PV systems, the initiative aims to promote development, adoption and implementation of national renewable energy policies, use training courses to support development of standardized procedures, train policy makers from ministries and specialized government agencies, regulators and utilities. Additionally the initiative seeks to improve the understanding of the private-sector on the incentive schemes, promote training to sector managers of financial institutions to increase their confidence in renewable energy technologies, especially PV and train SMEs in financial and management skills.
The ECOWAS region enjoys abundant solar resources while PV technology costs are falling. This makes the technology a competitive solution for rural electrification, as well as for decentralized on-grid electricity generation. In this sense the objective of the ProSPER initiative is to support the development of a regional and enduring market for solar power and supply areas, currently with little energy access. Markets under development include on and off-grid PV applications for both businesses and households and RE entrepreneurship is crucial to develop sustainable economical options to strike energy poverty.
As an outcome of the ProSPER initiative, a support facility was created to provide advisory assistance to small and medium-sized renewable energy enterprises, particularly in the fast-growing field of solar PV. ECOWAS-based renewable energy entrepreneurs are invited to submit their requests for assistance by visiting the following link: http://cac.2ie-edu.org/lime123/index.php/569913/lang-fr
