ECREEE and ARE signed a Memorandum of Understanding

Brussels, March 2011- a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was  signed between Mr. Mahama Kappiah, Executive Director of the ECOWAS Regional Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) and Mr. Simon Rolland, Secretary General of the Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE). The cooperation aims to boost the rural energy profile of both organisations and will contribute to ECOWAS’  policy objective of at least 20% of new investments in electricity generation in rural and peri-urban areas should originate from renewable sources.
ARE aims to promote off-grid and distributed renewable energy solutions for rural electrification in developing countries. ARE serves as an international platform for sharing the knowledge and experience of the private sector interested in operating in developing countries. Based on their experience, it develops technological, political and financial recommendations, which are made available for policy makers and other actors in the field of rural electrification. ARE, today is comprised more than 55 members, including many market leaders.

ECREEE on the other hand, is a specialised Agency of ECOWAS which aims at the establishment of regional renewable energy and energy efficiency markets by supporting various activities to mitigate existing technical, financial, economic, legal, institutional and capacity related barriers. These activities include the creation of policy and regulatory frameworks, capacity development, awareness raising and knowledge management as well as business and investment promotion. ECREEE executes its regional programs and projects in cooperation with its National Focal Institutions (NFIs) among all ECOWAS countries as well as the private sector and the civil society.
In this framework, ARE and ECREEE are ideal partners to address the questions and needs of local authorities in West Africa and disseminate the private sector’s best practices in order to maximise existing and future rural electrification and renewable energy programmes.

At the signing ceremony both sides stressed the importance of the ECOWAS Renewable Energy Facility (EREF) and the ECOWAS Renewable Energy Observatory (EREO). The Facility and the Observatory will open up opportunities for innovative North-South partnerships between ARE’s members and local companies and institutions.

In the MOU, both organizations agreed to:

1. In mutual respect of each other's identity and mission, to commit themselves to cooperating on the basis of an exchange of relevant information, expertise and viewpoints in order to develop and reinforce potential synergies, enhance public dialogue and thrive to implement common positions.
2. To work together for the promotion of renewable energy and energy efficiency energy systems and services sharing best practice, tapping into global expertise and project financing opportunities and raising the profile of local/regional expertise and projects.
3. To exchange information about projects or other initiatives in order to identify compatibilities, to create synergies and to avoid overlapping actions.
4. To identify through regular contacts the activities to be undertaken to realize the aforementioned co-operation.

More information available at:  www.ruralelec.org.

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