The overall goal of the project SOLTRAIN West Africa is to contribute to the switch from a fossil fuel based energy supply to a sustainable energy supply system based on renewable energies in general but based on solar thermal in particular. <\/p>\n\n
One of the important measures for electricity demand mitigation in the ECOWAS region is the use of solar water heating for domestic, commercial and industrial requirements but the fact still remains, despite the high demand for heat and the presence of abundant solar resource, the use of solar thermal technologies to meet demand is still on an extremely low level in ECOWAS countries.<\/p>\n\n
The immense potential of solar thermal energy in the region could replace entirely the use of fossil resources to heat water.<\/p>\n\n
The ECOWAS solar thermal capacity building and demonstration program therefore aims to remove existing lack of awareness and the political, technological and capacity related barriers, which restrict solar thermal energy deployment in ECOWAS countries.<\/p>\n\n
The program will also contribute to increase the grid stability and save national power reserves as solar thermal systems will significantly reduce the stress on electric grids due to the shift from electricity to solar energy. <\/p>\n\n
The main activities of SOLTRAIN West Africa are:<\/p>\n\n