Senegal Advances National Energy Efficiency Strategy Towards 2050

Senegal has moved closer to adopting a national energy efficiency strategy that will guide efforts to reduce energy consumption and improve energy productivity across the economy through 2050.

A workshop held in Dakar on September 10 brought together about 60 stakeholders to review draft versions of the National Energy Efficiency Strategy and Action Plan (NEESAP), guidelines for the energy performance of buildings and minimum energy performance requirements for new buildings.

The documents were developed with technical assistance from the African Energy Commission (AFREC) through the Continental Energy Programme in Africa (CEPA), which is funded by the European Union. The workshop was convened by the Agency for the Economy and Management of Energy (AEME), under Senegal’s Ministry of Energy and Petroleum.

The draft NEESAP updates Senegal’s National Energy Management Strategy 2015-2030 and extends its planning horizon to 2050. It covers industry, services and trade, appliances and clean cooking, buildings, transport and electricity supply.

The strategy is intended to provide a single framework for energy efficiency measures, setting priorities, assigning institutional responsibilities and identifying investment requirements. It is also expected to guide ministries, energy agencies, utilities, the regulator and financial institutions, while providing a common planning framework for businesses, professional associations, universities and civil society organisations.

Participants also reviewed the methodology used to prioritise measures in the action plan, which assesses expected energy savings against implementation costs.

The strategy is aligned with Senegal’s national targets for 2035 and 2063 and with the African Union’s energy efficiency objectives. Under the African Energy Efficiency Strategy, approved by African Union heads of state in February 2025, the continent aims to increase energy productivity by 50 percent by 2050 and 70 percent by 2063.

Mehdi Khouili, principal capacity building, partnerships and countries’ support officer at AFREC, said the strategy had been developed with Senegalese institutions rather than imposed on them.

“We are not developing strategies for countries; we are developing them with countries, under their leadership and according to their priorities,” Khouili said. “Our next challenge is to move together from strategy to implementation, and from implementation to measurable results.”

Stakeholders proposed changes intended to strengthen implementation and improve the effectiveness of the measures, which will be incorporated into the final documents.

The Ministry of Energy and Petroleum and AEME are expected to convene a high-level meeting within two months to adopt the strategy. Development finance institutions and cooperation partners will also be invited, with the meeting intended to help mobilise funding for priority measures identified in the action plan.

Source: FSX Business News