ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) was established by the ECOWAS Commission in 2008 during the 61st Session of ECOWAS Council of Ministers. ECREEE was formally inaugurated by the then Prime Minister of Cape Verde, Jose Maria Neves, and then President of the ECOWAS Commission, James Gbeho, on the 6th of July 2010 . ECREEE is a specialized ECOWAS agency based in Praia, Cabo Verde, with a regional public mandate to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency market in ECOWAS member states. It acts as an independent body but within the legal, administrative and financial framework of ECOWAS rules and regulations.
The overall mandate of ECREEE 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). Since its inception, ECREEE has been working diligently to create favourable conditions for regional RE & EE markets by supporting activities directed to mitigate existing technology, financial, economic, business, legal, policy, institutional, knowledge and capacity related barriers
Since its establishment, ECREEE has become the key institution for issues related to EE and RE in the ECOWAS region
- General business and Expertise of ECREEE –
The general business of ECREEE is to promoter RE and EE in the ECOWAS member states. A review of the power sector in ECOWAS member states demonstrates very low access rates, insufficient capacity for power generation and distribution, poor reliability of power supply, high costs, low renewable energy penetration, rampant inefficiencies and very high unmet demand. In this sense, addressing the region’s relative energy poverty and precarious energy security is a challenge; it hinders economic growth and development performance, while also impacting negatively on the quality of life of the population.
ECREEE is responsible for the development and promotion of RE and EE in the ECOWAS region. Its objectives, according to ECOWAS Revised Enabling Rules for ECREEE, are:
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- Coordination of projects and programs related to EE and RE, improving access to modern energy services and energy security
- Sensitization and capacity building on EE and RE in the region
- Policy harmonization for the implementation of such projects in the member states
- Research and technology transfer
- Program development and resource mobilisation
- Role of ECREEE in the ONEPlanET
ECREEE is the WP2 leader and will supervise the successful implementation of all the tasks of WP2. In addition, ECREEE will be responsible of policy selection and scenario implementation in collaboration with CARTIF and UVa. CARTIF is responsible of the conceptual models (in collaboration with UVa) and database development. SEI will be responsible of the review of databases and models and SU will be responsible to identify suitable functions and functionalities to be modelled. Rest of partners will collaborate in the population of the database, rank potential model improvements, model design, policy selection and scenario development.