Renewable Energy Training and Certification Program for WAPP Member Utilities

On Monday 05 June 2021, will be held at the Center des Métiers de l'Electricité (CME) in Bingerville (Abidjan, Ivory Coast), in the presence of Mr. Amidou Traoré, Director General of CI-Energie, Mr. Ahmadou Bakayoko, Director General of the CIE and Mr. Siengui A. Ki, Secretary General of the WAPP, the launch of the renewable energy training and certification program for the utilities members of the WAPP. Mr. Jan Kappen, Senior Energy Specialist and Task Manager at the World Bank, will participate in the launch ceremony by videoconference from Dakar (Senegal).

Funded by the World Bank, this Capacity Building Program is part of the West Africa Solar Parks Development Project, which aims to support a harmonized and systematic regional approach to scaling up large-scale competitive solar power generation, leveraging private capital, to lower the cost of electricity, improve the integration capacity of renewable energy and increase the share of solar in the energy mix.

The objectives of this Capacity Building Program, which will take place face-to-face and online in 05 WAPP training centers, are to

1. Promote the development of large-scale solar park projects in order to fill the electricity production gap in West African countries;
2. To set up "certified" training in planning, implementation, operation and maintenance of solar energy production facilities for at least 130 agents of WAPP member utilities and Ministries in charge of energy, of which at least 20% are women;
3. To have a pool of experts capable of carrying out the preparation, implementation, operation and maintenance of solar energy production facilities in ECOWAS countries;
4. To increase and perpetuate the training offer on solar renewable energies, through the Regional Training Centers (RTC) of the WAPP.

This training and certification program will be devoted to three (3) themes including (i) planning and implementation of solar power generation projects, (ii) operation and integration of solar power generation into the grid and (iii) maintenance and performance monitoring of solar power generation facilities.

It should also be noted that this program is a "professional qualification certification" that will be recognized by all key players in the energy sector in West Africa. To do this, five (5) major universities and polytechnics in West African countries will be associated with the program.

Mr. Siengui KI, Secretary General of WAPP and his team wish good luck to the participants of the three (3) training and certification programs.