Kick-Off Meeting Renewables Readiness Assessment for Mali
The Renewables Readiness Assessment process in Mali was kicked off by an inception meeting held from 3 – 4 April in Bamako, Mali. The purpose of this kick-off meeting was to explain the overall RRA process to the key stakeholders in Mali, set up the core RRA team that will fill up the RRA templates, and organise bilateral meetings/interviews with key national institutions and development partners to get their perspectives on renewable energy deployment in the country. The outcome of these interviews complemented the work of the core RRA team and guided the discussions during subsequent the validation meeting which was held later in 2017.
The meeting gathered 25 participants from the ministry of Energy as well as government agencies representing all of Mali’s relevant sectors, as well as the national power utility, academia and civil society organisations.
April 5 and 6 were dedicated to bilateral meetings with actors from all the relevant sub-sectors of the energy sector, including government agencies, the private sector, development partners and civil society organisations — GIZ, Mali-Folkecenter Nyetaa, the National Agency for the Promotion of Biofuels, the Water and Electricity Regulatory Commission, the Energy and Mines Planning and Statistics Unit, the Electricity Utility (EDM), the Agency for the Promotion of Investment, Horonya Solaire, the Organisation of Private Operators in Rural Electrification, and the embassies of Canada and Denmark.
Presentations:
- Introduction to the RRA and Impacts of RRAs conducted in Africa — Nopenyo Esselasse Dabla, Associate Professional Sub-Saharan Africa, IRENA
- The Process of the RRA in Mali — Nopenyo Esselasse Dabla, Associate Professional, Sub-Saharan Africa, IRENA
- Overview of the energy sector and the development of renewable energy in Mali — Souleymane Berthé, Director General of the Mali Renewable Energy Agency
- Presentation of the Background Paper for the Mali RRA — Dr Smail Khennas, Consultant, IRENA