In this post, I will be sharing notable highlights from my paper ‘Transplanting the EU Directives on Renewable Energy to the ECOWAS Supplementary Act: A Catalyst for Positive Change?’ which was published by the OGEL Journal earlier this year. In said paper, I investigated the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Supplementary Act on Renewable Energy Development (ESAREP) 2013 and whether this framework has fostered growth in the region’s renewable energy sector. I further examine the effectiveness of this framework and its progress in attaining its objective within the ECOWAS context, with my findings shared below.
Level of Electricity Coverage in ECOWAS
The ECOWAS, comprising 15 West African States, faces significant electricity deficits. The 2023 International Energy Agency (IEA) Report highlights that ECOWAS has the lowest electricity access globally, with significant disparity between member states and between urban and rural areas within the Member States.[1] While urban areas tend to have better access to electricity, rural communities remain largely underserved. According to World Bank, in 2022, ECOWAS's overall electrification rate was approximately 53%. However, only 31% of the rural population had access to electricity, compared to 81% of urban areas. Indicating that while urban areas tend to have better access to electricity, rural communities remain largely underserved. For instance, during the same time, Cabo Verde achieved an impressive electrification rate of 97.1%, with rural areas almost fully covered at 96.9%. In contrast, Niger had an overall electrification rate of only 19.5%, and rural access was significantly lower at just 7.7%. Disparities in electrification rates across member states highlight the region’s energy inequality. The vast majority of rural populations across ECOWAS remain underserved, relying on traditional biomass for energy, which has adverse health impacts, including indoor air pollution and respiratory issues. Per the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the region’s energy poverty significantly hampers its socio-economic and industrial development goals. The importance of renewable energy in facilitating the attainment of universal energy access by 2030 in developing countries like the ECOWAS has become more prominent, particularly with the declining costs of solar and wind energy.[2] Hence, to address its electricity deficit challenges, ECOWAS has turned to renewable energy as a potential solution to provide modern, sustainable energy across the region.
Adoption of the ECOWAS Supplementary Act on Renewable Energy (ESAREP) 2013
The ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) was established in 2008 to coordinate the efforts of promoting renewable energy development at the regional level, drawing inspiration from the EU’s successes in regional renewable energy promotion. The EU Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/EC (RED I), which aimed to secure a 20% share of renewable energy in the EU’s overall energy consumption by 2020, became a model for the ECOWAS framework. This model of regional intervention, where collective action across Member States in the spirit of solidarity drives national renewable energy development, was seen as an ideal framework for ECOWAS to emulate.
The ESAREP, adopted in 2013 under ECREEE’s guidance, set ambitious targets to increase renewable energy’s share in ECOWAS’s electricity mix, both for on-grid and off-grid systems. The act aimed to facilitate electrification by focusing on renewable solutions and ultimately achieve universal electrification by 2030. The ESAREP aligns ECOWAS's energy policy with global initiatives such as the Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7), which seeks to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all by 2030, and the Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) initiative.
Targets of the ESAREP
The ESAREP set an overall regional target for renewable energy divided into on-grid and off-grid systems.
For grid-connected systems, the specific target is to increase the share of renewable energy, including large hydropower projects, to 48% and excluding them to 19% by 2030.
For off-grid systems, the specific target is to increase the share of renewable energy to 25% by 2030. Off-grid targets are particularly important for the region’s rural areas. These include decentralised solutions such as mini-grids and standalone solar systems designed to bring electricity to underserved communities where grid extension is not feasible.
Key Modifications and Challenges
While the ESAREP was inspired by the EU’s renewable directives, it was adapted to meet the specific challenges of the ECOWAS region. One of the most significant modifications was the focus on off-grid renewable technologies to address the acute electricity deficit in rural areas. This focus on decentralised systems is crucial in a region where the cost of grid extension to remote, sparsely populated areas is prohibitively high, not economically viable and contributes to their low electrification rate.
The inclusion of off-grid targets in the ESAREP reflects the unique energy needs of ECOWAS, where large portions of the population live in rural areas far from existing utility networks. In contrast, the EU’s framework primarily focuses on grid-connected renewable energy solutions, as nearly all areas in EU member states have access to grid electricity.
A major limitation of the ESAREP, amongst other things, is the absence of enforcement mechanisms for member states that fail to meet their renewable energy targets. In contrast, the EU’s directives include provisions for penalties and sanctions for non-compliance, but the ESAREP does not. The lack of enforcement may undermine the effectiveness of the ESAREP, as member states could be less motivated to meet their renewable energy goals without binding accountability measures.
Progress and Achievements
The ESAREP highlights the advantages of regional integration in promoting renewable energy development among Member States. By fostering cooperation, regional initiatives enable countries to work together towards advancing their renewable energy sectors. The ESAREP provides regional guidelines and standards that accelerate the legislative process in favour of renewable energy at the national level, along with support measures designed to overcome sector-specific barriers, such as fiscal mechanisms to reduce the high cost of production and technical rules for renewable energy development. These guidelines mandated transposition and implementation at the national level, aimed at creating an enabling environment for investments across the region. The regional energy approach further enhances access to larger and more affordable renewable energy resources and leverages the regional markets to reduce the risks associated with intermittency in renewable energy generation, creating a more attractive environment for investors.
The EU’s experience illustrates how regional frameworks can drive national actions, and ECOWAS seeks to replicate this success. However, regional integration within ECOWAS is still in its early stages compared to the EU’s well-established economic union.
ECOWAS’s progress in renewable energy integration is promising, but full regional energy market integration is still in its early stages. The region has yet to evolve into a true economic union like the EU, and legal frameworks within individual member states continue to vary. However, efforts to harmonise policies and develop cross-border energy infrastructure are underway, and these will be key to accelerating renewable energy deployment across the region.
Since the adoption of the ESAREP, there has been notable progress in renewable energy integration within ECOWAS. Investment in renewable energy is a crucial factor in achieving the goals set out in the ESAREP. Since the act’s adoption, the region has attracted substantial investment in renewable energy projects. By 2020, total installed renewable energy capacity had risen significantly, with hydropower, solar, and wind projects gaining traction in several member states. For instance, Cabo Verde, Mali, and Senegal have successfully integrated solar and wind energy into their grids. Large hydropower projects in Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea are expected to further boost renewable energy’s share in the region’s electricity mix.
Off-grid renewable energy solutions, especially mini-grids, have been implemented across the region, particularly in Nigeria and Benin, through partnerships with international organisations like USAID and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). These initiatives have brought electricity to thousands of households in rural communities, contributing to the ESAREP’s goal of universal energy access to energy by 2030.
Challenges and Limitations
Despite the progress made, several challenges remain. One of the most pressing is the lack of political will and commitment from some ECOWAS member states. Mobilising political support for renewable energy development is crucial, as is ensuring that all member states fully participate in regional energy initiatives.
Another challenge is the lack of enforcement mechanisms in the ESAREP, which may lead to uneven progress among member states. Without sanctions or penalties for failing to meet renewable energy targets, there is a risk that some countries may not prioritise renewable energy development. ECOWAS’s current status as a free trade area limits its ability to impose such enforcement measures, but stronger commitments from member states could help overcome this challenge.
Additionally, developing the necessary infrastructure for regional energy integration presents significant logistical and financial challenges. Building and maintaining cross-border transmission lines, harmonising technical standards, and securing financing for large-scale renewable energy projects are all critical tasks that require close collaboration between member states.
Conclusion
The paper concluded that the ECOWAS Supplementary Act on Renewable Energy Development (ESAREP), although modelled after the EU’s renewable energy framework, is a significant step toward addressing the region’s chronic energy deficit. While the ESAREP provides a comprehensive regional framework for renewable energy promotion, its success depends on the commitment of member states to implement national policies and the eventual establishment of a more integrated regional energy market. If properly implemented, the ESAREP could serve as a catalyst for positive change, advancing ECOWAS’s goals of universal electrification, energy security, and sustainable development.
[1] International Energy Agency, ‘SDG7: Data and Projections’ (IEA 2023) <https://www.iea.org/sdg7-data-and-projections> accessed 1st September 2024. Also, World Bank Data reports ‘only about 53% of the region has access to electricity, with 81% in urban areas and 31% in rural communities’ see The World Bank Data, “World Bank Global Electrification” (2020) <Databasehttps://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.ELC.ACCS.RU.ZS?locations=ZF> accessed August 20 2024
It is further reported that ‘over 175 million people who live in ECOWAS lack access to reliable, modern, and sustainable energy’, see Maman Ali & Yu Qian, ‘Assessment of The Impact of Renewable Energy Policy on Sustainable Energy for All in West Africa’ (2021) 180 Renewable Energy, Elsevier 544-551.
[2] International Renewable Energy Agency, ‘Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2020’ (IRENA Abu Dhabi, 2021) <https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2021/Jun/IRENA_Power_Generation_Costs_2020.pdf> accessed 17th September 2024; Govinda R. Timilsina, ‘Are Renewable Energy Technologies Cost-Competitive For Electricity Generation?’ (2021) 180 Renewable Energy 658
