Dakar, October 11^th 2017. A three-Day sustainable energy forum is being hosted by the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) from the 11^th to the 13^th of October 2017 in Dakar, Senegal.

Themed: Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in West Africa: from Plans to Action, the seminar will act as a veritable platform for concrete action and for the promotion of sustainable energy in the ECOWAS region.

The forum will bring together a diverse group of stakeholders from within and outside the region. These would include the ECOWAS Commissioner responsible for Energy and Mines, representative of the ministries in charge of energy from all the ECOWAS member states, as well as Mauritania, Chad, Cameroon and Central Africa Republic, rural electrification agencies, electricity utilities, financial institutions, development partners active in the region’s energy sector, investors, regional and international private sector players, civil society groups and academia.

The ensuing result-oriented seminar will feature a series of targeted debates and practical working sessions on renewable energy and energy efficiency as well as related. There will also be a Ministerial panel discussion on strategies for achieving national and regional sustainable energy access objectives, international initiatives to support sustainable energy development in West Africa as well as the establishment of a Sustainable Regional Energy Market.

Other issues to be discussed are the West Africa solar corridor; access to electricity services via solar standalone systems, the successes, barriers and innovative approaches in financing private sector investment in solar standalone systems and the way forward in the implementation of the solar corridor roadmap.

All on-going efforts at attaining energy efficiency require putting in place adequate regional policies and regulatory standards and adopting common rules that guide stakeholders in the energy sector, in such a way that engenders investor-confidence.

Without access to modern energy sources; ECOWAS countries will be trapped in a vicious circle of poverty, social instability and underdevelopment. According to experts these factors intricately hinder the implementation of regional strategies aimed at fostering socio-economic development, attracting foreign investment and providing basic social services for citizens in the region.

In recognition of this, the ECOWAS Regional Energy Programme is being pursued with a view to improving access to modern, clean and affordable energy services by developing regional resources and actively pursuing regional cooperation and integration, particularly in the area of cross-border infrastructure projects for electricity and gas supply.

The three-day, multi-stakeholder forum has been implemented annually since 2012 and is designed to be the premier event for sharing best practices, developing innovative solutions and building new partnerships. Every year, practitioners and influencers from the sustainable energy industry and related sectors convene under ECREEE’s leadership to strengthen the region’s drive towards its goals in terms of socio-economic growth with sustainable energy as the backbone.

In order to shape the landscape for a solid renewable energy and energy efficiency market, ECREEE, in collaboration with its key partners developed the ECOWAS Sustainable Energy Forum as a platform to facilitate investment in the energy sector.

By bringing together major actors from within and outside the region, this forum will provide an opportunity for significant progress as well as impact. The expected outcomes of the forum, includes the official launch of the Rural Off-Grid Electrification Project in collaboration with the World Bank and the adoption of the roadmap for the West Africa Clean Energy Corridor.

The forum is also expected to witness the signing of the ECREEE/USAID/ power Africa Project agreement and the launch of the regional off-grid electrification project (ROGEP).