A representative from the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy
and Energy Efficiency (ECREE) has remarked that The Gambia, Cape Verde, Ghana,
Liberia, Niger and Senegal have specific Renewable Energy (RE) policies in
place. Hyancinth Elayo, a Cape Verde national made the disclosure to delegates
at the recently concluded 3rd National Renewable Energy (RE) dialogue forum.
The two-day synergy with the theme; Policy for Small Scale Renewable Energy
Regulation', which was jointly organized by PURA and NARUC, was held at a local
hotel in Kololi last week.
He said 12 out of the 15 ECOWAS member states refer to
Renewable Energy in their Energy Policies or Electricity bills, while three
other member states in Cote D'Ivoire, Guinea Bissau and Togo do not address
Renewable Energy in their Energy Policies or Electricity Bill.
According to Elayo, Guinea Bissau is however developing an
Energy Master Plan, which will consider Renewable Energy as an option, while 8
Member States, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote D'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali,
Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Togo do not have in place or at draft stage a
specific Renewable Energy policy. "10 of the 15 ECOWAS member states
except for Burkina Faso, Guinea Conakry, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone and Togo
have grid-connected Renewable Energy targets and all the ECOWAS member states
that do not have established targets also do not have specific RE policies or
laws in place," he informed delegates. He added that, except for Liberia,
all the other ECOWAS member states have some schemes and/or incentives, to
promote the adoption of Renewable Energy, while Burkina Faso and Cape Verde
have payment of credits, based on Renewable Energy production. He noted that
Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal have feed-in-tariffs in place, while The Gambia has
feed-in-tariff at a draft stage. According to him, Mali has a bio fuel
obligation and Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal have
competitive bidding funds and or public investment loans for development of
Renewable Energy, adding that most of the ECOWAS member states have some sort
of financial incentives, such as tax exemptions for import of RE equipment
and/or tax breaks and/or reduced tax for RE investment or are in the process of
creating them.
Elayo added that all the 15 ECOWAS member states have some type
of schemes or incentives to promote energy access, through Renewable Energy. He
then noted that energy access in these countries is promoted either by
tendering and grants, mostly through funds directed at rural electrification;
Renewable Energy projects, or subsidies, and or by financial incentives for
Renewable Energy equipment, such as tax exemptions for import of RE equipment
and/or tax breaks and/or tax reduction for renewable energy investment or are
in the process of being created. He said currently there are ECOWAS countries
that do not have RE policies in place, while some current RE policies still
require revision, if they are to achieve the desired objectives, thus the
establishment of new RE policies/plans or revision current RE policies/plans
would be best achieved, through the development of the National Renewable
Energy Action Plans (NREAP) to national legislation.
Elayo said most of the policies and plans currently in place
are not comparable - having different categories and units for measurements. He
then stated that, it is necessary to harmonize energy policies and laws to
ensure effective implementation, noting that ECOWAS Renewable Energy Policy
(EREP) contains a set of regional and national activities that must be
implemented.
He further stated that, 'Action 2 of the EREP stipulates
that each ECOWAS member state will develop NREAP and develop/revisit their
National Renewable Energy Policies (NREPs). "Each member state will
develop or confirm a set of national targets for renewable energy applications,
according to their detailed resources assessment and their grid capacity to
connect renewable energy over the time period," he added.
ECREEE according to Elayo, was mandated by the Authority of
ECOWAS Heads of States and governments to ensure the implementation of the
regional RE policy and to achieve the regional targets by 2020 and 2030,
developed a Regional Implementation and Monitoring Framework for the
Development, Adoption, Execution of the NREAPs and NREPs in the 15 ECOWAS
member states.
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