CAPE VERDE HOSTS REGIONAL WORKSHOP ON ECOWAS WIND AND SOLAR RESOURCE MAPPING

ECREEE, with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the techni­cal assistance of Nexant, organized a regional workshop on ECOWAS Wind and Solar Resource Mapping in Praia, Cape Verde, from 9–11 July 2012.

The objectives of the workshop were to present and discuss the contents of the Preliminary Report of Phase I of the Task; present the resource maps for each country and the entire ECO­WAS region; and build capacities in the region regarding screening and model­ling methodologies for RE investment projects.

The workshop is a component of an on-going Wind and Solar Resource Mapping and Project Development Task for the ECOWAS region. It aims to provide a framework to support the early stages of ECREEE’s initiatives to facilitate the development of com­mercially viable wind and solar energy projects by providing governments, investors and developers with timely, inexpensive and accurate information for project development.

The task therefore aims to deliver an organized and user-friendly database containing high-quality wind and solar resource data for country mapping and identification of potential project sites throughout the ECOWAS region; ex­ecute screening to recommend project sites within ECOWAS countries, based on resource data and on knowledge of countries’ infrastructure; and develop a methodology for modelling resource data along with well-informed project assumptions, including country infra­structure and other parameters gener­ally used in power project financing.