Praia, February 23^rd 2017

The ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) is holding its 7^th Technical Committee and 12^th Executive Board Meeting (23^rd) on the 23^rd and 24^th of February 2016 in Praia, Cape Verde.

The meeting is being called to address crucial issues that include the post 2016 strategic plan of the ECREEE, as well as the status of implementation and main achievements of the 2016 work plan.

ECREEE’s renewable energy expert Mr. Bah Saho presented the 2016 programs and projects carried out by ECREEE, highlighting their activities and accomplishments in the process. These included the training of journalists from the region on renewable energy and related issues as well as the establishment of a network between ECREEE and the journalists. Another achievement identified related to the evaluation of the report of the energy performance calculating tools in buildings for ECOWAS region which had been successfully developed.

Mr. Jansénio Delgado, Renewable Energy Expert, presented the 2017 ECREEE Work Programme and budget. The discussions that followed were very important as it allowed the staff involved to receive feedbacks that would enable improvement of the work plan and consequently the results to be achieved on the ground.

Before the ECREEE post 2016 strategic plan of ECREEE was presented, the Technical Committee Meeting was opened by the ECOWAS Director of Finance Dr. Alfred Braimah. There were also remarks by the Executive Director of ECREEE Mr. Mahama Kappiah, as well as the Carbo Verde Energy Director Mr. Óscar Borges.

The strategic plan is meant to give the Technical Committee a clear idea of what ECREEE plans to achieve and the steps to be taken to get the results desired.

There was also a presentation by the Sustainable Energy Expert of ECREEE the Mr. Nicola Bugatti on some selected key projects to be implemented by ECREEE in 2017 and beyond. Mention was given to the ECOWAS Program on Access to Sustainable Electricity Services (EPASES), the Regional Off-grid Electrification Project in collaboration with World Bank and United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The fruitful collaboration with USAID is expected, among others, to facilitate the launch of the ECOWAS Renewable Energy Facility 3 (EREF) to support the exploration of the commercial viability of clean-energy mini-grids.

The draft ECREEE Environmental and Social management Policy was also presented for comments and inputs. The policy comes against the backdrop of ECREEE’s plan to be accredited to the Green Climate Fund (GCF). The policy which is a basic requirement, demonstrates the desire by ECREEE to identify, assess, evaluate, manage and monitor all Environmental and social risks and impacts created by its activities and projects.