Capacity Needs Assessments for Rural Electrification
Workshop: “Capacity Needs Assessments for Rural Electrification”
On 2 November 2012, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) held a workshop at the First International Renewable Energy Off-Grid Conference and Exhibition (IOREC) in Accra, Ghana. The workshop highlighted the importance of systematic capacity needs assessments for targeted capacity building, with a specific emphasis on rural electrification through renewable energies.
During the workshop representatives from the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), universities and practitioners involved in capacity needs assessments explained how they had helped enhance the functioning of a system providing rural populations with modern energy services. For the first time, a renewable energy case-study example from Afghanistan was also presented.
IRENA introduced the Capacity Development Needs Diagnostics for Renewable Energy (CaDRE) methodology, which guides and assists in the implementation of capacity needs assessments in the renewable energy sector, with an emphasis on solar and wind energy. In April 2012, the CaDRE handbook and toolbox were launched in conjunction with the German Development Agency (GIZ), the Spanish Institute for Diversification and Energy Assistance (IDAE) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
The presentation can be downloaded here.
One of the major objectives of ECREEE is to build the capacity of market enablers and players to develop and implement renewable energy and energy efficiency investments or programmes in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region. Findings of a needs assessment showed that the quality of available training needs to be improved, regulations must be revised to encourage renewable energy deployment, and lack of financing addressed.
The presentation can be downloaded here.
A further regional assessment (English [ECOWAS regional report pdf], French [CEDEAO rapport regional pdf]) carried out based on country studies by three ECOWAS universities, in Burkina Faso, Cape Verde and Ghana, examined the areas of recruitment needs and training, delivering 15 national reports. The assessment found that solar photovoltaic (PV) technologies will be of strategic importance for rural electrification in the ECOWAS member countries.
The presentation can be downloaded here.
A capacity needs assessment [ESRA report summary pdf] was carried out for the first time in Afghanistan by the Afghan-German Energy Programme. The assessment found that there is a low awareness of rural electrification and renewable energy issues on a political level, that the mandates and responsibilities of public agencies are not clear, and that the country has a weak vocational training infrastructure.
The presentation can be downloaded here.
A panel discussion closed the workshop by examining the challenges facing the deployment of renewable energy technologies suitable for rural electrification. End-user awareness and gender issues demand particular attention in the context of rural electrification, while training, income generation and improvement of quality of life were also considered paramount.