West African countries have a large potential to leapfrog on modern renewable energy technologies, a crucial transformation process the CIREG project intends to support by co-developing climate services and solutions to provide relevant information to stakeholders and decision-makers. The project which is jointly implemented by WASCAL, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK, leader of the consortium), Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Technical University of Danemark (DTU), and Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) has the following objectives.
- Deliver demand-driven climate services to support renewable energy planning, implementation, and investment decisions, aligned with SDGs and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
- Support decisions towards sustainable electricity generation mixes with a high share of renewables (including hybrid solutions based on solar, wind, and large to micro hydro power).
- Provide information on risks and opportunities for renewable electricity sources under climate change and variability.
- Develop a framework for the systematic identification and valuation of renewable electricity generation potentials aligned with SDGs for national, regional, and international investors.
Project indicator | Summary of results |
Outcome of Projects | Off-grid renewable solutions and mixes of solar, hydro & wind powers in West Africa. |
Mitigation to climate change | Transboundary power sharing, mixes and complementarity between hydro, solar and wind energy in support of the West Africa Power Pool (WAPP) |
Adaptation technology | Installation of an off-grid photo-voltaic (PV) power plant and a centralized PV-based borehole water pumping system in Niger to provide access to clean water for consumption and micro-irrigation of the villagers. Installation of a hybrid solar-hydropower warehouse to Gbandidi community in Southern Togo. |
Capacity building | Training of two (2) master students |