SAlzouma@irena.org, phone: +97124179071 and Gurbuz Gonul, e-mail: ggonul@irena.org

Launched in 2014, the Africa Clean Energy Corridor (ACEC) is an initiative that aims to transform the current fuel mix by promoting the development of clean, indigenous and cost-effective renewable power options and to create a regional market for the trade of renewable power. ACEC now includes more than 30 governments, regional organisations, development partners and financial institutions and there is a growing interest from new partners to join. Thanks to the successes achieved in East and Southern Africa, the West Africa Clean Energy Corridor was initiated in 2016 .

Work on the initiative spans five main pillars: 1. Zoning and Resource Assessment to site renewable power plants in areas with high resource potential and suitable transmission routes. 2. National and Regional Planning to consider cost-effective renewable power options. 3. Enabling Frameworks for Investment to open markets and reduce financing costs. 4. Capacity Building to plan, operate, maintain and govern power grids and markets with higher shares of renewable electricity generation. 5. Public Information and Awareness to raise awareness on how the corridor can provide secure, sustainable and affordable energy.

Resource Assessment: Africa Clean Energy Corridor: - Development of the zoning methodology for the identification of high resource potential and cost-effective power generation zones, which has been validated by stakeholders from utilities, government, regulatory bodies, power pools and academia within the region. - Collection of extensive data from EAPP and SAPP countries on their renewable energy resource potential, existing and planned grid transmission infrastructure and road networks, protected areas, national electricity load profiles and infrastructure expansion costs, for use in the zoning analysis. - Identification of renewable energy zones in the EAPP and SAPP member countries and presenting these to stakeholders, highlighting developable areas for wind and solar (both utility-scale photovoltaic and concentrated solar power) technologies. - A regional workshop organised in Namibia in April 2017 enabled data gathering on the sites earmarked for development. This output provided a basis for financial viability analyses, which aims to inform power procurement procedures in the relevant countries as well as the regional planning processes. In that regard, the financial viability and suitability of 18 project sites have been assessed within the ACEC zones to guide renewable investments. The results of this assessment are being considered by some of the countries in designing their tendering processes as well as guiding their interactions with potential solar and wind project developers.

West Africa Clean Energy Corridor: - Completion of a suitability analysis work for solar and wind which helped to identify the area of high potential in the region and will be used as basis for the future zoning work under WACEC - Conduct of scoping study for the solar component of the WACEC aiming to install 2 GW of Solar by 2030 in West Africa (funded under the ongoing European Union Energy Initiative’s Technical Assistance Facility). - Initiation of financial viability analyses for sites earmarked for Solar and Wind project development. In that regard, 14 sites have been assessed in Mali and Togo and 10 are under assessment in Nigeria. Other countries such as Senegal have expressed their interest in the service

National and Regional Planning Africa Clean Energy Corridor: -Development of least-cost System Planning Test models to support planning for long-term power generation expansion plans (over the next 20 – 40 years) in continental Eastern and Southern African countries. These models also allow policy makers to assess least-cost investment options in light of a specific policy goal, such as a renewable energy penetration target, import independence, affordability or CO2 targets, in order to assess investments in international transmission lines for renewable energy deployment. The tools have been made available and regional training seminars were held, with the attendance of more than 50 energy planners in total. - Ongoing work has also been initiated to incorporate the zoning results into regional planning in Eastern and Southern Africa power pools. - Support was provided to Swaziland through a 10-month capacity building programme for the development of and Energy Master plan for enhancing energy security, affordability and environmental sustainability based on the results of the zoning exercise. The Energy Master plan will be adopted and followed by energy planning capacity building programme to strengthen the country’s implementation capacity.

West Africa Clean Energy Corridor: - Development of the “Planning and Prospects for Renewable Energy in West Africa” report taking into account the new model input data and national renewable deployment scenarios using SPLAT-W country models coming out of a six-month capacity-development programme in 2015/16 organised by IRENA and the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), in collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). - Initiation of a capacity building programme to establish a national energy planning unit for energy statistics and long-term energy planning taking into account cost effective renewable energy options in Sierra Leone. - Contribution to the update of the West Africa Power master plan, by providing input to support the collection of reliable data on renewable energy resource potential, costing as well as capacity building on planning and project facilitation

Enabling Frameworks: to attract Investments - Guidance provided, through Renewables Readiness Assessments, to Djibouti, Gambia, Ghana, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Senegal, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe on the development of enabling policy, legislative and institutional frameworks. - Launch of the Sustainable Energy Marketplace (SEM) for project initiation, development and financing. SEM brings together renewable energy project owners, governments, financiers, and service/technology providers to enhance the understanding of the market and the capabilities of project owners in a transparent and structured way. - Support provided to the Regional Electricity Regulators Association for Southern Africa (RERA) to develop a knowledge base on regulatory actions supporting renewable energy development in the region. - Cooperation with national regulators and RERA, ministries, utilities and academia to enhance investment frameworks for wind and solar PV. This engagement has developed an assessment, in two pilot ACEC countries (Namibia and Zimbabwe) as well as the entire SAPP region, on how existing planning processes can be amended, including the empowerment of the regulatory roles to provide greater investment certainty and ensure timely project delivery; deepened the understanding of auction practices and impacts in sub-Saharan Africa (South Africa, Uganda, Zambia); principles for designing bankable power purchase agreements for renewable energy in Southern Africa and further details related to efficient project development and approval.

Capacity Building Africa Clean Energy Corridor: - Holding capacity-building workshops related to the renewable power zoning process in the EAPP and SAPP regions. The workshops, attended by ministries, utilities, regulatory bodies, and academics, presented preliminary study results and provided a platform for explaining the zoning process and methodology. - Organization of training seminars on energy planning and the use of planning tools for the ACEC countries, which were attended by energy planning officers, utility planners and academics. - Holding the first IRENA Renewable Energy Training Week on regulation. The continuing training week series inform decision makers in governance bodies and industry about the possible paths for the development and integration of renewable resources into today’s power systems. - Organization of the Southern Africa Renewable Energy Statistics Workshop for building capacities in the collection, processing and dissemination of renewable energy data as well as the construction of national renewable energy balances. Other topics covered at this training workshop included: renewable energy costs; resource assessment; energy production from bagasse (field trip); and estimation of renewable energy production from international trade statistics about imports of equipment (solar panels and solar water heaters). - Series of trainings on strategic long-term energy planning through the use of IRENA’s System Planning Model (SPLAT-SW) for Swaziland.

West Africa Clean Energy Corridor: - Initiation in partnership with the relevant regional institutions, of a capacity building programme with the end-goal of facilitating regional market integration. This capacity building programme put the focus on the development of renewable energy PPAs as well as the planning and operation of grids with higher shares of variable renewable power. - The component on the planning and operation of grids with higher shares of variable renewable power was kicked-off in Dakar in December 2017 and will be completed by end of June 2018 - The component on the development of RE PPA was kicked-off in January 2018 and will be completed by end of August 2018. These two activities will be followed by a three-year capacity building programme aiming to address all the issues identified by the gap analysis.

2. The initiative is assisting countries and regional power pools in updating the power Master Plans, to consider Least-Cost Renewable Energy options based on the results of the renewable energy zoning.

• Developed the zoning methodology for the identification of high resource potential and cost-effective power generation zones, which has been validated by stakeholders from utilities, government, regulatory bodies, power pools and academia within the region. • Collected extensive data from EAPP and SAPP countries on their renewable energy resource potential, existing and planned grid-transmission infrastructure and road networks, protected areas, national electricity load profiles and infrastructure expansion costs, for use in the zoning analysis. • Determined renewable energy zones in EAPP and SAPP member countries and presenting these to stakeholders, highlighting developable areas for wind and solar (both utility-scale photovoltaic and concentrated solar power) technologies. • Assessing the financial viability of selected zones, factoring in cash flow, cost of debt and return on equity, within three pilot countries.

'Enabling Investment Frameworks' • Development of least-cost System Planning Test models to support planning for long-term power generation expansion plans in all continental African countries. The tools have been made available, and five regional training seminars held, with a total of 140 African energy planners taking part. The models are built on assessments of power-generation potential in the Global Atlas for Renewable Energy and the IRENA Renewable Cost Database, in addition to regional power infrastructure databases. They calculate least-cost plans for the expansion of power generation over the next 20-40 years, taking into account various operational constraints. The models also allow policy makers to assess least-cost investment options in light of a specific policy goal, such as a renewable energy penetration target, import independence, affordability or CO2 targets. • Zoning work is being deepened at national levels, with support provided to selected countries to consider identified solar and wind zones as part of integrated national energy master plans. Zoning results have started to be incorporated into regional power-pool planning in East and Southern Africa. Additionally, IRENA has started providing zoning results to help specific site assessments in selected ACEC countries.

'National and Regional Planning' • Support for market assessments and the creation of new frameworks, in order to open markets to independent renewable power producers, reduce the costs of renewable power financing, and facilitate renewable power trade and power system integration. • Guidance provided, through Renewables Readiness Assessments, to Swaziland, Djibouti, Mozambique, and Zambia on development of enabling policy, legislative and institutional frameworks. Similar country-level consultations have also taken place in Zimbabwe and Tanzania. • Initiation of support to national and regional agendas for sustainable power system regulation development, by fostering the creation of enabling regulatory frameworks based on global good practices. Such support, which is needs-driven, includes providing various technical advice adapted to the regional context. • Initiation of discussions on the potential of using Integrated Resource Plans (IRP) to develop power systems that include newly integrated renewable resources; and to establish regulatory frameworks for IRP development and implementation. • Consultation with stakeholders in EAPP countries to develop and implement a corresponding, but tailor-made, plan in the EAPP region. • Encouragement of concrete investments through the Sustainable Energy Marketplace, an online portal that helps projects using renewables get off the ground. The Marketplace brings together project owners, governments, financiers, and service/technology providers, enhancing their understanding of the market, creating a transparent and structured framework, boosting project success rates and supporting sustainable development and energy access in Africa. The Marketplace registered 46 renewable energy projects in ACEC countries in its first year, including 36 power-generation projects with 0.751 gigawatts of power under development at a cost of USD 1.7 billion.

'Capacity Building' • Held capacity-building workshops related to the renewable power zoning process in the EAPP and SAPP regions. The workshops, attended by ministries, utilities, regulatory bodies, and academics, presented preliminary study results and provided a platform for explaining the zoning process and methodology. • Organised five introductory training seminars on energy planning and the use of planning tools for the ACEC countries, which were attended by energy planning officers, utility planners and academics. • Preparations to provide further technical support and advisory services to targeted institutions, in order to enable them to independently manage and update IRENA’s ACEC zoning study, as well as to enhance their planning capacity using energy planning tools. • Holding the first IRENA Renewable Energy Training Week on regulation. The continuing training week series inform decision makers in governmental bodies and industry about the possible paths for the development and integration of renewable resources into today’s power systems.