The African Development Bank (AfDB), the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (MASEN) and RES4Africa Foundation have agreed to join forces on a dedicated solar energy training programme in 2022, to foster the uptake of solar energy in five Sahel countries.
The programme, to be conducted in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, will focus on energy professionals and policy makers from the target countries, and proposes a first stage institutional training course in June- July, followed by a vocational mini-grid focused training course in September-October.
Dr. Daniel Schroth, Director for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency of the African Development Bank, announced the move during the RES4Africa Annual Conference and 10th Anniversary.
All three organisations underscored the importance of the new training programme.
“This training programme and tripartite collaboration comes as a timely opportunity given the cross-cutting importance of capacity building for the Desert to Power initiative. The planned sessions are relevant to all aspects of the solar energy value chain and landscape – from utility scale to decentralised uses. Adequate capacity building supports solar energy deployments in the Sahel region, and it will help accelerate the energy transition,” said Schroth.
The Desert to Power initiative is a flagship renewable energy and economic development programme led by the AfDB. The pogramme’s objective is to light up and power the Sahel region by building an electricity generation capacity of 10 gigawatts through photovoltaic solar systems via public, private, grid and off-grid projects by 2030.
Ali Zerouali, head of Cooperation and International Development at MASEN said: “MASEN appreciates the start of this training collaboration. In line with the objectives of the Coalition for Sustainable Energy Access to contribute to the achievement of SDG7 by 2030, Sahel countries in particular will capitalise on this dedicated training programme to increase their own capabilities in order to accelerate their energy transition leaving no one behind for the inclusive social and economic development.”
“These organisations’ mutual experience shows the real value of capacity building on creating markets, overcoming barriers, developing skills and opportunities in the long term, and we aim to contribute to the growth of the Sahel’s solar energy future,” said Mr. Roberto Vigotti, Secretary General of RES4Africa.
The RES4Africa Foundation (Renewable Energy Solutions for Africa) is an organisation which envisions the sustainable transformation of Africa’s electricity systems to ensure reliable and affordable electricity access for all, enabling the continent to achieve its full, resilient, inclusive and sustainable development. The Foundation’s mission is to create favourable conditions for scaling up investments in clean energy technologies to accelerate the continent’s just energy transition and transformation.
Masen, created in 2010 is a company responsible for managing renewable energy in Morocco. Through its projects, Masen contributes to the national objective of securing 52% of the country’s energy mix from renewable sources by 2030. By the end of 2020, 1200 MW of wind power were in operation, 1770 MW of hydro, and more than 700 MW of solar. Masen Group places the development of renewable resources at the heart of its strategy, in order to create an endless power of economic, social and environmental progress for Morocco and beyond.
