Renewables Readiness Assessment: The Gambia

A Renewables Readiness Assessment (RRA) identifies the actions needed to overcome a country’s barriers to renewable energy deployment, with IRENA providing technical support and expertise to facilitate consultations among different national stakeholders.

In The Gambia, the lack of reliable, affordable power seriously hampers investment. But renewable energy technologies – whose cost has fallen rapidly in recent years – are more cost-effective than existing fossil-fuel power generation in the country. The country-led RRA consultations identified opportunities to diversify the country’s electricity mix and expand access to reliable electricity by hybridising isolated diesel power plants operated by the national utility with new renewable energy installations. IRENA and several partners have also initiated studies to demonstrate the commercial viability of hybrid mini-grids in The Gambia, aiming to highlight opportunities for investment.

While the RRA process helps to shape appropriate policy and regulatory choices, each country determines which renewable energy sources and technologies are relevant and consistent with national priorities.