ECOWAS Regional Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) founded

The foundation for the ECOWAS Regional Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) was laid with Regulation C/REG.23/11/08 of the 61st Session of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Council of Ministers in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, in November 2008. ECREEE is a specialized ECOWAS Agency, which acts as an independent body but within the legal, administrative and financial framework of existing rules and regulations of ECOWAS.

The ECREEE secretariat is based in Praia, Cape Verde and was established in November 2009 with support from the ECOWAS Commission, the Governments of Austria, Cape Verde and technical assistance of UNIDO. In 2010 the Spanish Government joined the initiative and pledged support for the program and project activities of ECREEE. The secretariat of the Centre implements its activities in cooperation with nominated national focal institutions in each country and the private sector.

ECREEE aims at the establishment of regional renewable energy and energy efficiency markets by supporting various activities to mitigate existing barriers on different levels and sectors. These activities include policy development and quality assurance, capacity building, the design and usage of tailored financing mechanisms and appraisal tools, awareness raising and the implementation of demonstration projects with potential for regional scaling-up.

Further information on ECREEE is available on the website www.ecreee.org in English, French or Portuguese.