Togo , Burkina Faso , Bénin , Côte d'Ivoire , Guinée-Bissau , Mali , Niger , Sénégal

Development of a regional energy efficiency building code in WAEMU member states

EXPERTISE : /Building codes
SECTOR : , Industrial

client

REEEP Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership

 

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

In 2009, the heads of state of the WAEMU member states made the decision to implement a regional initiative aimed at promoting sustainable energy in order to cope with energy shortages. In April 2011, this decision led to the launching of the WAEMU’s regional initiative for sustainable energy (Initiative Régionale pour l’énergie durable – IRED), with the aim of supporting energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy (RE) in all the member states. As part of this initiative and with funding from the REEEP, the Institut de la Francophonie pour le développement durable (IFDD) and the WAEMU itself, Econoler was mandated to develop and implement a regional EE labelling program for lighting products and household appliances over the period 2011-2015.

Having had success with the above mentioned initiative, Econoler, in partnership with the IFDD, proposed another regional project, which was aimed at developing an EE building code for the WAEMU member states. This project was presented to the REEEP, which in April 2013 agreed to support it financially under the REEEP’s Ninth Programme Funding Cycle. According to a recent study on EE in new buildings in Benin, the enforcement of such an EE building code could generate up to 35 percent of energy savings in new constructions in West Africa.

HIGHLIGHTS

With the financial support from the REEEP and under its existing partnership with the WAEMU and the IFDD, Econoler was mandated to develop a regional approach to regulating EE in new buildings built in the WAEMU member states. The ultimate goal of this project was to develop a regional directive on EE for new buildings to guide the implementation of building EE regulations at the national level.

With this regional initiative, it is expected that the WAEMU countries were well equipped to enforce minimal EE requirements in new buildings, on either a voluntary or a mandatory basis. In addition to the energy consumption and carbon emissions savings that were realized, the implementation of the Regional EE Building Code developed as part of this project will help the WAEMU member states address many energy supply issues they will have to deal with in the coming years.

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