By Abiodun Folarin
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has been urged to adopt innovative, high-impact financing models to accelerate renewable energy development, strengthen energy security and address the region’s growing electricity challenges.
This recommendation was presented by Professor Diouma Kobor, Director General of Senegal’s National Agency for Renewable Energy (ANER), during a meeting of the ECOWAS Parliamentary Committee, where he outlined strategic financing approaches that could unlock large-scale investments in renewable energy across West Africa.
According to Kobor, the global energy crisis requires a shift from financing isolated renewable energy projects to developing interconnected and bankable investment portfolios capable of attracting long-term private and public capital. He stressed that reducing financing costs, accelerating project deployment and improving electricity grid reliability should become key priorities for governments in the region.
He identified rising fossil fuel costs, increasing electricity demand, grid instability, limited rural access to power and the infrastructure needs of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as major challenges confronting West Africa’s energy transition.
Using Senegal as a case study, Kobor noted that renewable energy is projected to account for 28 per cent of the country’s installed generation capacity by 2025, with a target of 40 per cent by 2030. He also highlighted the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), which has announced €2.5 billion in funding to support Senegal’s clean energy ambitions over the next three to five years.
To achieve these goals, the presentation proposed five innovative financing models. These include blended finance mechanisms that combine concessional and commercial funding, independent power producer agreements supported by battery storage systems, solar transport corridors built along existing infrastructure networks, mini-grid financing for rural communities, and the development of domestic green capital markets through instruments such as green bonds and sukuk.
The presentation argued that blended finance should be used to lower the cost of capital and attract private-sector participation, while battery-backed renewable energy projects would improve grid stability and reduce reliance on expensive fossil-fuel generation.
For rural communities, Kobor emphasized the importance of mini-grids linked to productive economic activities such as irrigation, cold storage, agro-processing and healthcare services, noting that access to electricity becomes financially sustainable when it supports income generation.
The proposal also called for the creation of solar energy corridors along highways, railways and power transmission routes, transforming existing transport infrastructure into clean energy assets while reducing land-use pressures.
As part of its recommendations, the presentation outlined a renewable energy investment portfolio for Senegal between 2026 and 2030, allocating 30 per cent of funding to grid upgrades and energy storage, 25 per cent to solar and wind independent power projects, and the remainder to energy corridors, mini-grids, energy efficiency initiatives and project guarantees.
At the regional level, ECOWAS was encouraged to establish a Regional Fund for Innovative Energy Infrastructure, develop mechanisms to support green public-private partnerships, climate finance and green bonds, and create a regional risk-mitigation framework for renewable energy and power interconnection projects.
The presentation further proposed the launch of an ECOWAS “Smart Energy Corridors” programme incorporating solar-powered highways, railway corridors, agrivoltaic projects and transmission-linked renewable energy systems. Estimates suggest such initiatives could unlock more than 50 gigawatts of renewable energy potential across the region.
A flagship project highlighted in the presentation is the proposed Senegal–Mali CPCL-WAPP solar corridor, which would span 100 kilometres along an existing transmission line, generate about 306 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually and attract an estimated $153 million in investment. The project is expected to create between 500 and 1,000 jobs while avoiding approximately 150,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year.
Kobor concluded that the most effective energy financing strategies are those that reduce electricity costs, strengthen energy sovereignty and deliver measurable economic and social benefits, urging ECOWAS policymakers to accelerate regional cooperation in renewable energy financing and infrastructure development.
