AfDB, MASEN and RES4africa to impart solar training for Sahel Countries

North Africa is the receiver of the  highest irradiance on the planet and there is an increased focus on pushing more solar projects in the region. For the same, the African Development Bank (AfDB), MASEN and RES4Africa have agreed to join forces on a dedicated solar energy training programme in 2022. The official statement by AfDB will foster the uptake of solar energy in five Sahel countries. By training local resources, besides local jobs, it should also help in lowering costs.

The solar training programme will be conducted in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. It will focus on energy professionals and policy makers from the target countries. It proposes a first stage institutional training course, followed by a vocational mini-grid focused training course.

Dr. Daniel Schroth, Director for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, AfDB, announced the move during the RES4Africa Annual Conference and 10th Anniversary. Dr Schroth said, “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 decentralized uses.”

Ali Zerouali from MASEN stated, “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 capitalize 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.”

Roberto Vigotti, Secretary General of RES4Africa, said that these organizations’ mutual experience shows the real value of capacity building on creating markets, overcoming barriers, developing skills and opportunities in the long term, and they aim to contribute to the growth of the Sahel’s solar energy future.

Desert to Power is a flagship renewable energy and economic development initiative of the AfDB. Its 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.