Rwanda will require about $1.5bn investment in the power sector to achieve universal energy access by 2029 after missing the 2024 target, Rwanda Energy Group (REG) has said.
Access to electricity currently stands at 77.7 per cent, up from 34.4 per cent in 2017 under the National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) which ran from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2024.
Twenty-five districts out of 30 have an access rate exceeding 70 per cent while the remaining five districts have access rates ranging from 61 to 69 per cent.
The East –Central African nation had targeted to increase energy generation capacity from 208 MW in 2017 to 556 MW by 2024, by developing a mix of hydropower, thermal methane, solar, and other renewable energy projects.
The strategic objective of the project was to build a balanced and cost-optimised generation mix sufficient to meet growing demand.
According to Armand Zingiro, CEO of Rwanda Energy Group (REG), the key factors that contribute to the expansion of electrification are numerous, one of which is developing internal capacity to address gaps, particularly when contractors fail to meet expectations.
“On our journey to universal access, one of the approaches/strategies we took with the support of the government is that we started by extending the national grid in all the provinces, then we went in all districts, and after that, all sectors got electricity, now we are at the village level,” Zingiro explained in a report filed by Newtimes.co.rw.
According to Zingiro, the failure to achieve the universal energy access goal was impeded by funding shortages, procurement challenges, Covid-19-related material supply chain disruptions, as well as other political crises.
Moreover, households residing in dispersed communities and lacking the capacity to maintain off-grid solutions were identified as contributing factors.
Zingiro said there are projects in the pipeline to connect 1.3 million households between 2024 and 2029.
The projects to expand the energy mix through increased use of renewable sources involve the Nyabarongo II Hydropower Project, aiming to produce 43.5 MW of power.
Located at the Nyabarongo River, the Nyabarongo II Multipurpose Dam is currently being built on the Northern and Southern provinces’ border, between Kamonyi and Gakenke Districts.
The dam will measure 59 metres high and 363 metres long, creating a reservoir with a storage capacity of 803,000,000 cubic metres.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com