The Economic Community of West African states Centre for Renewable and Energy Efficiency has reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring sustainable energy across the ECOWAS member-states by 2030.
The Executive Director, ECREE, Mr Francis Simpore, made this known on Tuesday in Abuja, during the closing ceremony of the seventh edition of ECOWAS Sustainable Energy Forum 2022.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the seventh Edition of the Forum (ESEF2022) by ECREEE is organised in collaboration with Nigeria’s Ministry of Power.
NAN also reports that the eighth edition of the Forum ESEF 2023 will be hosted in Cape Verde.
The director said the agency was reaffirming its commitment to ensuring the sustainability of renewable energy by bringing together key stakeholders in the energy sector to discuss and proffer solutions to the energy challenges in member states.
“Our strategic objective is to integrate the operation of the Community’s national power grids into a unified regional electricity market to ensure a stable, regular, and reliable supply of competitively priced electricity to the citizens of the ECOWAS member-states in the medium term.
“The ECOWAS Commission specialised energy agency together with key stakeholders like ministry of power among others are working tirelessly to address challenges of power.
“We plan to achieve this objective by promoting and developing power generation and transmission facilities and equipment and coordinating electricity trade among the ECOWAS member-states.”
“The ECREE is also working on improving energy access for the ECOWAS rural population and actively promoting the deployment of off-grid energy solutions, such as clean energy mini-grids and stand-alone technologies.
“To this end, several regional projects are at the stage of implementation within the region.
“We aim to have an access consolidated rate of 70 per cent by 2030,” Simpore said.
He also added that ESEF had fostered concrete progress in the attainment of the ECOWAS region’s sustainable energy targets.
“This forum has also facilitated investment opportunities in the ECOWAs region’s sustainable energy sector,
“By providing a platform for networking and improving the policy and regulatory landscape for private sector investment through engagement between ECOWAS policy makers, regional and international private sector players, and financial institutions,” he said.
Also speaking, the Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Malam Abubakar Aliyu, in his closing remarks expressed his appreciation to the ECOWAS commission for hosting ESEF in Nigeria while noting that the importance of energy to human development could not be over-emphasised.
“We all know the energy pay a key role in nation building and development.
“This forum has provided opportunity for investors to come and know the potential of Nigeria and tap into the so that there will be a win-win situation for them and us to grow the energy sector.
