Solar in West African Energy Policies - State of the Art and On-going Development
Abstract
Energy challenges are one of the numerous challenges the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region faces. The region has vast energy resources, including renewable ones, but its access to modern energy services is very low. This has consequences on the economic development, the daily life of people. ECOWAS Member States recognize that renewable energy sources are one solution, combined with increased efficiency in the use of energy. This led to the adoption of regional policies for renewable energy and energy efficiency by the ECOWAS Energy Ministers in October 2012. EREP, the ECOWAS Renewable Energy Policy, is proposing a frame and different actions, the ones for solar energy will be presented here, both for solar thermal and the different uses of PV systems, from stand- alone ones to mini-grid systems and grid connected systems. In parallel, the ECOWAS Energy Efficiency Policy (EEEP) was developed. The paper is concluded by the barriers to be removed, and how.