In 2010, the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) was established in Cape Verde with support of the ECOWAS Commission, UNIDO and the Austrian and Spanish Governments. The regional centre of excellence works in fifteen West African countries including the two small island developing states Cape Verde and Guinea Bissau. ECREEE coordinates and executes regional programs, projects and activities in the areas of capacity and policy development, information and data sharing, as well as investment and business promotion. In close partnership with SIDS DOCK it is intended to establish the centre as the coordinative hub and think-tank for regional sustainable energy cooperation between all African islands.

ECREEE aims at the establishment of an enabling environment for renewable energy and energy efficiency investments and markets. The center provides the following services:-Develop a coherent regional sustainable energy policy framework and facilitate its implementation on national levels; -Develop, coordinate and/or execute regional programs and projects with other partners and mobilize funding; -Operate as key entry point for the implementation of international funding related to climate change mitigation;-Provide co-funding for projects executed by the private and public sector (e.g. call for proposals and tenders);-Develop a regional framework for capacity development and organize train-the-trainers workshops;-Strengthen networks between research and training institutions;-Update and provide sustainable energy information and data for investors;-Think tank, lobbying agent and advisory platform for sustainable energy; -Networking and co-organization of conferences, forums and workshops;-Establishment of partnerships for knowledge and technology transfer;

The establishment of regional train-the trainer networks and south-south/north-south partnerships for knowledge and technology transfer are a core activity of ECREEE.

ECREEE is a specialized agency which acts as an independent body but operates within the legal, administrative and financial framework of ECOWAS rules and regulations. The Centre has established a network of National Focal Institutions (NFIs) among all fifteen ECOWAS countries. The Secretariat of the Centre is based in Praia, Cape Verde, and operates with multi-national team of local and international full-time staff. The working languages are English, French and Portuguese. The centre works on the basis of annually agreed work plans. It is governed by an Executive Board and a Technical Committee. In partnership with SIDS DOCK and UNIDO it is intended to create special coordination office for African SIDS at the ECREEE Secretariat. The office will take leadership in the coordination and implementation of the sustainable energy cooperation between the African SIDS.

United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) ECOWAS Commission Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) Global Environment Facility (GEF) SIDS DOCK Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Comoros, Mauritius, São Tomé and Príncipe and Seychelles National utilities, regulators and IPPs Local companies and industry in the sustainable energy sector National and regional financing institutions and banks National training and applied research institutes and academia