Accelerating access to renewable energy in West Africa
FREETOWN, 31 January 2023 (Source: World Bank website) — Activities under the new Regional Emergency Solar Power Intervention Project (RESPITE) have officially kicked off in Freetown to increase access to electricity for millions of existing and potential consumers in Chad, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Togo. RESPITE – a US$311 million regional project supported by the World Bank and approved on 20 December 2022, with legal agreements signed today – aims to rapidly increase grid-connected renewable energy capacity and strengthen regional integration across the participating countries.
West Africa has one of the lowest electrification rates, with 220 million people living without access to electricity, alongside some of the highest electricity costs in sub-Saharan Africa. Rising oil prices – as a result of the war in Ukraine – have increased the liabilities of electricity companies, and countries are facing a severe energy supply crisis that threatens their economic growth. Furthermore, countries in the region rely on oil-fired power stations to meet growing demand. In addition to the negative impact on the climate, this situation is leading to ever-higher tariffs for consumers.
“We are paying much more for energy now than we were 18 months ago. The very high and rising energy prices continue to have an adverse impact on other sectors of our economies.” said His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio, President of Sierra Leone, who presided over the official signing of the RESPITE financial agreements, in the presence of official delegations from Chad, Liberia, Togo, the West African Energy Reserve, the World Bank and other stakeholders. “This regional initiative is urgently needed in the short term. Today, our countries are taking a bold step in the right direction. RESPITE marks the beginning of a revolution in energy supply and access,” he added.
RESPITE will help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by funding the installation and operation of approximately 106 megawatts of solar photovoltaic power with batteries and storage systems, the expansion of 41 megawatts of hydroelectric capacity, and support for electricity distribution and transmission projects in the four countries. It also includes a regional approach, providing $20 million to help the West Africa Power Pool (WAPP) increase the potential for energy trade in West Africa and to facilitate knowledge-sharing amongst the member countries of the ECOWAS.
As highlighted by Mr Bernard Hessou, Director of Planning, Investment Programming and Environmental Safeguards at WAPP, “RESPITE fully supports WAPP in achieving its objectives of expanding access to competitive and climate-friendly electricity supplies for the citizens of the ECOWAS. It will help create new opportunities to improve quality of life, whilst providing additional support to WAPP in preparing its priority projects and establishing a regional electricity market across all countries of the ECOWAS.”
RESPITE offers a more sustainable and affordable solution for a cleaner energy sector and will pave the way for the ambitious expansion of clean energy generation in West Africa in the future. As part of the launch, a Regional Energy Sector Roundtable was held prior to the Signing Ceremony to discuss specifically how the roll-out of renewable energy can help countries reduce costs, cut emissions and ensure universal access to energy to support economic transformation in West Africa.
“RESPITE complements other existing regional projects by adding the region’s first competitively priced, affordable and publicly procured clean renewable energy to the region’s energy mix, whilst at the same time enhancing regional integration, expanding the potential for energy trade and improving the enabling environment for the integration of renewable energy in the future. ” said Boutheina Guermazi, World Bank Director for Regional Integration for Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa.