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Bridging West Africa’s electricity deficit through renewable energy – EnviroNews
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Across West Africa, access to reliable electricity remains one of the most significant barriers to economic growth, industrialisation and improved living standards.
Although electricity access has improved across the ECOWAS region in recent years, vast disparities persist, especially in rural communities where millions of people still live without dependable power supply.
The consequences are far-reaching, affecting agriculture, healthcare, education, commerce and overall quality of life.
Across the sub-region, households and businesses spend substantial sums on diesel and petrol generators to compensate for inadequate or unreliable electricity supply.
Frequent blackouts, high energy costs and limited grid infrastructure continue to constrain productivity and economic growth.
Yet, West Africa is richly endowed with renewable energy resources.
The region possesses abundant sunshine throughout the year, significant hydropower potential, wind resources along its coastline and growing opportunities in bioenergy.
Energy experts believe these resources could play a decisive role in addressing the region’s persistent electricity deficit.
Consequently, renewable energy has emerged as a central pillar of ECOWAS’ strategy for expanding electricity access, especially in underserved rural communities where extending conventional grid infrastructure remains costly and challenging.
It was against this backdrop that the ECOWAS Parliament recently convened a week-long delocalised meeting of its Joint Committee on Energy, Mines, Infrastructure, Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources in Dakar, Senegal.
The meeting was themed “Harnessing Renewable Energy for Rural Electrification and Strengthening Rural Economies in the ECOWAS Region: The Role of the ECOWAS Parliament”.
It sought to develop strategies for large-scale deployment of renewable energy and accelerate rural electrification across the sub-region.
Participants underscored West Africa’s comparative advantage in renewable energy resources and called for greater investment in clean energy infrastructure to unlock economic opportunities and bridge the region’s electricity access gap.
They noted that with abundant solar radiation, wind resources, hydropower potential and bioenergy opportunities, renewable energy represented one of the most viable pathways for expanding electricity access, especially in rural and underserved communities.
Stakeholders therefore advocated leveraging the bloc’s vast renewable energy potential and decentralising power generation through mini-grids and off-grid systems to address long-standing energy challenges.
Speaking at the meeting, the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Memounatou Ibrahima, represented by the Fourth Deputy Speaker, Billay Tunkara, stressed that renewable energy should no longer be viewed solely as an electricity project.
According to her, expanding access to clean energy will unlock new opportunities for farmers, women entrepreneurs and young people, while accelerating industrialisation and strengthening regional development.
“Renewable energy is not merely a technical response to electricity demand. It is a key driver in transforming economic activities, particularly in rural areas,” she said.
Similarly, the Speaker of the Senegalese National Assembly, Ousmane Sonko, represented by Babacar Ndiaye, Chairman of the Assembly’s Energy and Mineral Resources Committee, underscored the importance of electricity in transforming rural communities.
According to him, access to reliable electricity enables farmers to process agricultural produce, supports entrepreneurship among young people, improves learning conditions for students and strengthens healthcare delivery.
Also contributing to the discussions, Senegal’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cheikh Niang, represented by Mamadou Seck, Deputy Director of the ECOWAS National Office in Dakar, described universal access to energy as both a social necessity and a prerequisite for rural economic transformation.
Niang said renewable energy offered a unique opportunity to simultaneously advance economic development and environmental sustainability.
“It is about enabling our rural populations to have the energy necessary to produce more, create added value and sustainably improve their living conditions,” he said.
Beyond the policy discussions, participants highlighted ongoing regional efforts aimed at strengthening energy integration and expanding electricity access.
In particular, stakeholders commended the ECOWAS Commission for progress recorded under the West African Power Pool (WAPP), which has facilitated the interconnection of national electricity grids across member states through thousands of kilometres of transmission infrastructure.
The initiative has strengthened cross-border electricity trade and enhanced opportunities for countries to exchange surplus power, thereby improving regional energy security and reducing supply disruptions.
As part of broader efforts to improve electricity access, the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERERA) has also promoted mechanisms that enable electricity utilities to trade energy across borders more efficiently.
For instance, countries with excess hydropower generation during favourable seasons can export electricity to neighbouring states experiencing shortages, helping to stabilise supply and reduce costs.
However, significant challenges remain.
While progress has been recorded in regional integration, millions of people across West Africa still lack access to electricity, especially in rural and hard-to-reach communities.
Highlighting the urgency of the situation, Fanta Conte, Chairperson of the Joint Committee, noted that the implications of inadequate electricity access extend beyond household lighting.
According to her, limited access to power affects healthcare delivery, education outcomes, business growth and agricultural value addition, thereby undermining broader socio-economic development.
Conte emphasised the critical role of parliamentarians in translating regional commitments into concrete national actions through legislation, oversight and implementation.
Expressing similar concerns, Sen. Ali Ndume, Chairman of the Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture, urged ECOWAS member states to allocate five per cent of their national budgets to renewable energy development.
According to him, such investments would greatly improve rural development outcomes, strengthen agricultural productivity and enhance security.
“For less than one million dollars, you can modernise a rural community. Once that is done, you bring development, improve security and strengthen agriculture,” he said.
Also speaking, Koumoin Arbaduis, ECOWAS Acting Head of Conventional Energy, observed that West Africa continued to grapple with inadequate electricity supply, low access rates and high transmission costs despite its abundant energy resources.
He said the region’s long-term vision remained the creation of a community with access to modern, reliable and sustainable energy services capable of improving living standards and supporting socio-economic development.
Meanwhile, Hary Andriantavy of the African Association for Rural Electrification (CLUB-ER) called for enabling legal frameworks to support decentralised mini-grids, clean energy technologies and productive-use energy applications.
According to him, access to electricity contributes significantly to economic development, healthcare, education, social inclusion and environmental sustainability.
Analysts note that renewable energy technologies, particularly solar mini-grids and off-grid systems, are increasingly being viewed as practical solutions for rural electrification because they can be deployed faster and at lower costs than conventional grid extensions in many remote communities.
Across Africa, governments and development partners are investing in such systems to bridge electricity access gaps while advancing climate and sustainability objectives.
For his part, Diouma Kobor, Director-General of Senegal’s National Agency for Renewable Energy, identified rising electricity demand, dependence on imported fossil fuels, grid instability and unequal access to power as major drivers of the region’s energy challenges.
Kobor advocated greater integration of solar, wind, gas, energy storage and energy-efficiency solutions, while leveraging the West African Power Pool framework to strengthen electricity supply across the sub-region.
Similarly, Maimouna Sidibe of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) observed that renewable energy currently accounts for a relatively small share of the bank’s energy portfolio despite growing demand across rural communities.
She identified weak project preparation, poor bankability, small project sizes, regulatory bottlenecks and limited access to guarantees as major barriers to investment in rural energy projects.
Sidibe disclosed that EBID’s 2026–2030 strategy would expand support for solar mini-grids, off-grid systems, hybrid power plants, small hydropower projects and productive-use energy solutions aimed at stimulating rural economic growth.
Looking ahead, stakeholders acknowledged that financing remains one of the biggest obstacles to West Africa’s energy transition.
Although renewable energy technologies generally offer lower operating costs over the long term, their deployment often requires substantial upfront investment in infrastructure, transmission networks, storage facilities and technical capacity.
Consequently, governments, development finance institutions and regional bodies are increasingly exploring innovative financing mechanisms capable of attracting private-sector investment and accelerating project implementation.
The Dakar meeting ended with parliamentarians unanimously adopting a report containing key recommendations aimed at accelerating renewable energy deployment, expanding electricity access and strengthening rural economies across the ECOWAS region.
The recommendations included scaling up decentralised energy systems such as mini-grids and off-grid solutions, harmonising regulatory frameworks, strengthening innovative financing mechanisms and enhancing parliamentary oversight of energy projects.
The Joint Committee also called for urgent measures to address financial challenges affecting the West African Power Pool and other strategic regional energy initiatives.
In the final analysis, the Dakar meeting reinforced the growing consensus that renewable energy will be central to West Africa’s quest for universal electricity access.
However, achieving that ambition will depend on sustained political commitment, regulatory reforms, adequate financing, technological innovation and stronger regional cooperation.
While significant challenges remain, stakeholders believe that expanding renewable energy investments could help transform electricity access, stimulate rural economies and accelerate socio-economic development across the ECOWAS region.
As ECOWAS continues to pursue universal energy access and regional integration objectives, the extent to which member states translate commitments into action will ultimately determine the success of the region’s renewable energy transition.
Overall, observers say West Africa’s energy transition remains a work in progress, but one that offers a promising pathway toward a more inclusive, resilient and sustainable energy future.
By Mark Longyen
