Gambia Approves Law to Promote Renewable Energy

Minister Jaiteh on the move for renewable energy

Gambia’s legislators on Friday December 13, 2013, unanimously approved a law – Renewable Energy Bill - which seeks to “establish the legal, economic and institutional basis to promote the use of renewable energy resources”.


“This bill is timely,” says Hon. Fabakary Tombong Jatta, the National Assembly member for Serrekunda East and majority leader. “It will benefit the [Gambian] people, particularly rural dwellers. It is therefore innovative, supportive and commendable."
Speaking before him was the Gambia’s energy minister, Teneng -Ba Jaiteh, who moved the bill for debate and told the deputies that resorting to renewable energy is the only sustainable way out of the current energy woes the country faces.
As she puts it: “The Gambia is blessed with a lot of renewable energy resources such as the sun, wind and bio-energy, which if properly harnessed and effectively utilised, would help increase the access rate to modern energy. This will also provide alternative source of energy, which is a more sustainable and environmentally-friendly source of fossil fuel.
“Unfortunately, the renewable resources are under-utilised mainly due to lack of legal and regulatory frameworks, limited human resource capacity and limited access to finances. Lack of legal and regulatory framework has resulted in sales of sub-standard renewable energy products such as solar PV modules, solar batteries, poor installation of renewable energy systems, and, low investments in the renewable energy sub-sector.”
Minister Jaiteh went further to tell the legislators that the Renewable Energy Bill would promote the development and sustainable use of renewable energy resources to achieve greater energy self-sufficiency and thus reduce the heavy dependency on fossil fuel and the unsustainable exploitation of forest resources to support the socio-economic development activities of the country.
She added: "The Bill would also regulate the quality of imported RE (Renewable Energy) product and the installation of RE systems; establish a Renewable Energy Fund to support research and utilisation of Renewable Energy; provide incentives for both grid and off-grid renewable electricity systems making them more attractive to both domestic and commercial entities; contribute to the achievement of the regional decisions adopted in Accra regarding the ECOWAS Regional Renewable Energy Policy; develop a well structured and regulated RE market that would help promote private sector participation in energy generation using renewable."

Meanwhile, The Gambia currently depends heavily on the use of wood and charcoal and, fossil fuel to meet its energy requirements. Electricity generation is mainly dependent on fossil fuel, which consumes about 50% to 60% of the revenue NAWEC, the sole producer and distributor of electricity in Gambia.