MADRID, Spain – A multi-sectoral delegation from Sierra Leone has concluded a five-day benchmarking study visit to Madrid to convert the country’s national solar waste management strategy into an operational blueprint for the country’s first pilot. UNOPS led the mission under the Salone Off-Grid Renewable Energy Acceleration (SOGREA) initiative, an EU-funded project implemented by UNOPS in partnership with the Ministry of Energy of Sierra Leone, from 21 to 25 September 2026.
Participants included the Ministry of Energy (MoE), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Electricity and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC), the Public Private Partnership Directorate (PPP), Sierra Leone Standards Bureau (SLSB), Fourah Bay College (FBC) at the University of Sierra Leone, the Office of the President’s Presidential Initiative on Climate Change, Renewable Energy and Food Security (PI-CREF) and the UNOPS SOGREA technical team.
Their task was to review global best practices in life cycle management of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and batteries and collect practical guidance to help support the establishment of safe, circular, and economically viable end-of-life management systems in Sierra Leone.
Spain was chosen for the benchmarking mission because its progressive waste management frameworks demonstrate compliance with the European Union’s Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive, well-established Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes, successful public-private partnerships, and strong research and recovery infrastructure.
Throughout the week, the Sierra Leone delegation took part in technical site visits, policy workshops, facility demonstrations and bilateral consultations intended to give them an understanding of the whole solar lifecycle – from regulatory design and compliance through to collection logistics, treatment and material recovery.
Key activities included discussions with ECOLEC on producer compliance models, financing mechanisms for collection and recovery, and operational stewardship arrangements. A consultative meeting with Spain’s Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) covered national legislative oversight, institutional coordination, and regulatory implementation.
Delegates also visited FCC Medio Ambiente for technical reviews of large-scale waste logistics and treatment infrastructure and held strategic discussions with the Unión Española Fotovoltaica (UNEF) on market dynamics, voluntary stewardship and producer compliance in the solar sector. The program included visits to the Centre for Energy, Environmental and Technological Research (CIEMAT) for laboratory visits and discussions on technology transfer. It provided an overview of recycling technologies and research partnerships.
The information and technical know-how collected in Madrid will feed directly into SOGREA Work Package 7, which will pilot solar waste management approaches in Sierra Leone.
The pilot aligns with the EPA’s strategic objective to develop an Integrated Waste Management Facility at Masiaka, ensuring responsibilities across regulators, government directorates, academia, and the private sector are clearly defined. The products of the benchmarking mission are a Benchmarking Mission Report, a National Action Matrix and targeted Policy and Technical Guidance documents. These outputs will translate the Spanish best practices into concrete plans for Sierra Leone, defining institutional roles, operational timelines, business model options and technical training curricula.
Sierra Leone’s off-grid solar expansion is gaining pace, and the Madrid mission is a key moment in the journey from planning to execution. It provides national stakeholders with the technical blueprint to launch the country’s first operational solar waste-management pilot and embed circular-economy principles in the emerging renewable-energy sector.
