Regional Capacity Building Workshops for Experts from Regional Off-Grid Electricity Access Project (ROGEAP) Member States on the Solar PV off-grid Standards up to 350 Wp

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As part of the implementation of the Regional Off-Grid Electricity Access Project (ROGEAP), the ECOWAS Department for Infrastructure, Energy and Digitalization is organizing a series of regional capacity building workshops for experts from the states covered by the ROGEAP project on standards for solar home kits up to 350 Wp. The three cities selected to host the regional workshops in May 2023 are Niamey in Niger, Lomé in Togo, and Accra in Ghana. These workshops will be facilitated by experts from ROGEAP, the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), and VERASOL, a diverse network of organizations, institutions, and programs established to improve the quality and availability of modern off-grid solar solutions worldwide.

The first regional capacity building workshop for the group of Francophone countries will be held in Niamey, the capital of Niger, from 3 to 5 May. This will be followed by the second one, which will take place from 9 to 11 May in Accra, Ghana, for the group of English-speaking countries. Finally, the third workshop will be held from 16 to 19 May in Lomé, Togo, for the second group of French and Portuguese-speaking countries. The main objective of this activity is to provide technical assistance to experts from Rural Electrification and/or Renewable Energy Agencies and Standardization Bodies responsible for off-grid in the ROGEAP member countries by building their capacities on the harmonized regional standards ECOSTAND IEC TS 62257-9-8:2020 and ECOSTAND IEC TS 62257-9-5:2018, related to off-grid solar home systems with power output up to 350 Wp and their laboratory test method.

The workshops will cover the following topics: (i) General and specific principles of the two standards, (ii) Conformity assessment, (iii) Market surveillance, (iv) Enforcement, and (v) Monitoring and evaluation of off-grid solar PV products up to 350 watts and their laboratory test methods.

The Niamey regional workshop, organized in collaboration with the Agence Nigérienne de Normalisation, de Métrologie et de Certification (ANM), the Agence Nigérienne de Promotion de l’Electrification en Milieu Rural (ANPER), and the Agence Nationale de l’Energie Solaire du Niger (ANERSOL), will be officially launched on 3 May by the Commissioner Sédiko DOUKA for Infrastructure, Energy, and Digitalization of ECOWAS Commission and the Honourable Minister of Industry and Young Entrepreneurship of the Republic of Niger, Ms. Salamatou GOUROUZA MAGAGI.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).