ECOWAS delegation in a Study Tour on Renewable Energy in Spain

The ECOWAS Regional Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) – Regional Environment Project organized a Study Tour On Renewable Energy in Spain From 14 To 18 November, 2011. The activity was hosted in Spain by the Spanish Agency of International Cooperation for Development (AECID), the Center for energy-Related, Environmental and Technological Research (CIEMAT) and the Technological Institute of Canary Islands (ITC). The study tour invited representatives from the following 7 West African countries: Mauritania, Cape Verde, Sierra Leone, Benin, Sao Tome, Mali & Ivory Coast. The delegation also comprised a series of resource persons from the USAID, the World Future Council & the West African Power Pool. This activity started in September with a previous visit to Spain made by a Gambian delegation to visit wind energy technologies and learn about the role of the public sector on the deployment of renewable energy.

The visit provided a full understanding of Spain’s national policy to deploy renewable energy across its territory and in particular the ingredients for an optimal policy package on legal, fiscal, technical framework both at national and local level. The participants learnt how various forms of renewable energy resources are assessed, harvested, & managed. The complementary role of public institutions and the private sector was also highlighted. In particular, the whole delegation discovered how intermittency of some renewable energy sources (in particular solar and wind power) is managed within the national grid. A two day field visit of renewable installations in the Island of Gran Canaria was the highlight of the week-long study tour.

UNDP & ECREEE will pursue the collaboration and propose a coherent programmatic framework project to coordinate activities among countries.

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