Fourth Executive Board and second Technical Committee meeting of ECREEE

The second Technical Committee meeting and the fourth Executive Board meeting were held from the 20 to 21 October 2011, in Cotonou, Benin.

The Executive Board congratulated ECREEE to its progress and approved the 2011 Mid-Term Status Report.The following achievements were highlighted. ECREEE (….)

• developed the USAID funded ECREEE Business Plan (2011 to 2016)which includes also measurable indicators to monitor the impact of ECREEE in the different result areas.
• developed the 2012 work plan including budget.
• undertook awareness raising visits to (9) nine ECOWAS countries.
• strengthened its Network of National Focal Institutions (NFIs) and successfully integrated the focal points in the planning and implementation of activities. A NFI Coordination Meeting was held in Kumasi, Ghana.
• consolidated its Governance Structure and organized three (3) Executive Board meetings (January, May, October) and two (2) Technical Committee meetings (January, October).
• strenghtended its staff base.
• commenced successfully its internship programme with six (6) students from Spain, Netherlands, Senegal, Cote Ivoire, Nigeria.
• could attract further funding pledge from the European Union and indications from the German Government (e.g. GIZ, KFW). Other partners pledged support for specific ECREEE activities in 2011/12 (e.g. OECD-SWAC, ESMAP, UNDP, KFW).
• developed and tested a quality, appraisal and project cycle management framework for projects to be co-funded by the Centre.
• finalized successfully the first call for proposals of the ECOWAS Renewable Energy Facility (EREF) for Peri-Urban and Rural Areas with overwhelming response from the region. ECREEE received 166 concept noteswith and overall grant request of more than 7 million Euros (15 million Euros including co-funding). The EREF was a strong sign with regard to the promotion of RE&EE in rural and peri-urban areas and the further implementation of the ECOWAS White Paper.
• developed a concept for the ECOWAS Renewable Energy Investment and Business Initiative (ERIBI)with ECREEE as its Secretariat. The Initiative will facilitate annual Investment Forums with the participation of local and international financiers. ECREEE will ensure coordination between the ECOWAS Energy Ministries and Financiers to develop a RE Project Investment Pipeline. KFW agreed to host the first RE ECOWAS Business and Investment Forum in Frankfurt in 2012.
• launched the implementation of high visible RE&EE demonstration projects such as the PV system for the ECREEE headquarters, the solar lighting system for the ECOWAS headquarters and the solar cooling project for the assembly in Praia, Cape Verde.
• launched the development of the ECOWAS Renewable Energy Policyand the ECOWASWhite Paper on Energy Efficiencywith assistance of the European Union.
• launched the execution of the ECOWAS Solar and Wind Resources Assessmentand finalized preparations for a regional CSP and sustainable biofuel crops assessment.
• launched the regional capacity needs assessmentin cooperation with West African universities (e.g. KNUST, 2ie, Cape Verde University).
• Finalized the planning for the ECOWAS Observatory for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (EREO)and initiated first activities.
• organized four (4) regional training workshops and events with 115 expertsrepresenting different target groups: RE Policy Training on Canary Islands (27), GIS Energy Access Planning (35), RETScreen training in Ghana (35), e-training of the Fundación Centro de Educación a Distancia para el Desarrollo Económico y Tecnológico (18). All ECOWAS countries were represented in the trainings.
• organized two regional RE&EE conferences with participation of more than 202 participants: Power Kick for Africa: International Conference on Renewable Energy and Gender in Nigeria (72), Accelerating Universal Access to Energy Services through the Use of RE &EE in Ghana (130). ECREEE held the Steering Committee of the AREA in Praia, Cape Verde. Together with the SWAC-OECD ECREEE will organize a conference on sustainable biofuel in December 2011 in Praia, Cape Verde.
• finalized preparatory works for several project to be funded by the European Union of GEF (e.g. SEEA-WA project, regional GEF Project, GEF CV project).
• signed further MoUs and strengthened working relations with different partners in West Africa and on international levels (e.g. IRENA, ARE, KNUST, 2ie, AEA, CENER, ITC, TERI, AREA, IEPF, UNIDO-SHP, ABREC, CEDDET).
• received further international recognition in energy policy processes(Africa-EU Energy Partnership, energy+ initiative), was invited to several conferences as panelist and was nominated to several steering bodies (e.g. REN-21, AREA, GBEP).
• UNFCCC approved the suggested ECREEE side event at COP-17 on 7 December 2011 on renewable energy and energy efficiency investments for low-carbon development in West Africa. ECREEE invited high level officials from UNIDO, GEF, MFA-Austria, MFA-Spain and the AfDB. The side event is organized in cooperation with Biz-Clim.
• On invitation of ECREEE, the Deutsche Welleproduced a documentary on Renewable Energy in Cape Verde and ECREEE in English, Spanish and German.

Moreover, the Technical Committee and Executive Board reviewed and approved the ECREEE 2012 Work Plan and budget. ECREEE intends to implement 86 activities under 7 programmeswhich will contribute to the achievement of the impact performance indicators of the result areas in the ECREEE log frame. The activities are implemented throughout the six result areas of ECREEE:

• RESULT AREA 1: Effective regional RE&EE promotion agency created and efficiently managed
• RESULT AREA 2: Funds for RE&EE programs and projects mobilized and implemented
• RESULT AREA 3: Tailored policy, legal and regulatory frameworks created and implemented
• RESULT AREA 4: Capacities are strengthened and applied
• RESULT AREA 5: Knowledge base, awareness raising and advocacy strengthened
• RESULT AREA 6: Business and Investment Promotion