SIERRA LEONE RENEWABLE ENERGY ASSOCIATION (REASL)

As the association spearheading Sierra Leone’s energy revolution, REASL, led by President Kofie Macauley, have been lobbying for the development of a clean energy future since 2016

The full potential of renewable energies (RE) in Sierra Leone is yet to be fully realised. With one of the lowest electricity access rates in the world, Sierra Leone’s national electrification rate is approximately 26 percent. Within rural areas, this figure falls to just 6 percent.

The country’s energy industry, let alone specifically concerning renewables, faces significant challenges of a complicated distribution system, a weak infrastructure with high technical and commercial losses, an insufficient capacity, combined with low voltage quality. As with many Sub-Saharan African countries, limited (or indeed, no) access to energy is prevalent in rural areas, where providing clean cooking solutions presents a major hurdle for communities. It is estimated that 96.8 percent of Sierra Leone’s population cooks with either firewood or charcoal. Many are forced to resort to petrol or diesel generators to power their homes, and kerosene or battery lamps for lighting solutions in the face of an unstable public energy supply.

Sierra Leone’s electricity is primarily sourced from thermal power plants. This is supplemented by several small hydroelectric installations, including the Dodo hydroelectric power plant in the country’s southeast, yet the country’s roaring river valleys possess a potential for hydropower that remains unharnessed.

At the centre of this relatively nascent industry, is the Renewable Energy Association of Sierra Leone (REASL) - the trade association dedicated to the development of a thriving renewable energy market.

The organisation is headquartered in the capital of Freetown, strategically located at the centre of one of the world’s largest natural harbours and ringed by the thickly forested mountain slopes of the Freetown Peninsula.

Led by President Kofie Macauley, who officially began tenure in 2019, REASL are dedicated in their pursuit and continue to adopt an active role in promoting the interest of their members within the RE sphere to major stakeholders, primarily the government and public sector. Advocacy, lobbying and marketing are instrumental in this goal, particularly concerning the dissemination of vital information on global and local issues, policies regarding new technologies and business models within the sector.