The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) kick started a 6 – Day workshop on Improvement of Policy and Regulatory Frame-work on Clean Energy Mini-Grid (CEMG) for its member States in Abuja, Monday, 17th July, 2017.
The workshop is organized by the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) and the European Union Energy Initiative Partnership Dialogue Facility (EUEF-PDF) under the framework of the ECOWAS program on Access to sustainable Electricity Service (EPASES) 2014 – 2020.
Some of the objectives of the workshop are as follows: to strengthen the capacity of ECOWAS Member states with regards to the provision of electricity services through renewable energy to rural population, expose participation to the data requirements to represent a renewable energy project in the Independent Power Project (IPP) model, expose participants to the data requirements to calculate the avoided cost in the IPP model, and to expose participants to the data requirements to understanding to represent a green mini – grid, exploring and output.
The Permanent Secretary, Power, Louis Edozien, who represented the Minister of Power, Works & Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, at the event commended the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) and the European Union Energy Initiative Partnership Dialogue Facility (EUEI-PDF) for their enormous support to member States and assured them of Nigerian’s unflinching support on clean energy initiative in the region. “I would like to call on all participants, Country Representatives from ECOWAS member countries to take advantage of the great opportunity being presented by ECREEE, to build needed capacity”, he added.
Earlier, the Head of Cooperation to European Union (EU) Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Mr. Kurt Cornelis stated that, European Union is active though a number of partnerships with sub-Saharan countries in the area of sustainable energy and that more than E700 of grant have been committed for ECOWAS Member States from 2014 – 2020, this, he said is very important as it shows that access to electricity and promotion of sustainable and clean energy is paramount importance to the ECOWAS and European Union.
Mr. Cornelis pointed out that the EU Initiative Partnership Dialogue Facility is a goodexample of a multi-donor initiative established with the aim to promote coherent, effective and efficient European energy development cooperation.
Etore E. Thomas
Ag. Director (Press)
