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Rwanda steps up energy sufficiencywith new solar deal

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By BERNA NAMATA The EastAfrican

Posted Saturday, May 17 2014 at 11:18

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Rwanda is stepping up investment in solar energy with a utility-scale solar plant following the signing of a $20 million dealthis week to build the facility outside Kigali.

The 10MW solar photovoltaic plant, to be constructed in Kayonza District in Eastern Province, is expected to boost Rwanda’selectricity supply by 10 per cent as the country grapples with a widening energy deficit that is putting pressure on itseconomy.

Rwanda, which has a 0.25MW solar power plant that has been running on the national grid since 2007, is specificallytargeting solar solutions as a lighting substitute for rural schools, health centres, hospitals and administrative offices.

The government signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with Goldsol II, an energy consortium, to construct the plant,which is expected to be operational by 2016.

Goldsol II is composed of three companies — TMM Renewables, incorporated in South Africa, Malta-registered GestoEnergy Africa and locally incorporated 3E Power Solar.

“The realisation of this project will not only contribute to increased access to sustainable, reliable, and clean powergeneration of about 10 per cent to the existing power generation, it will also serve an estimated 38,800 additional householdsvis-a-vis the 427,000 connections today,” said Valentine Rugwabiza, the Rwanda Development Board’s chief executiveofficer, at the signing ceremony.

While Rwanda has set a solar energy target of 20MW by 2017, its installed capacity, estimated at around 120MW (local),remains insufficient. This is supplemented by imports of about 14.5MW.

“The 2017 energy target is 563MW to allow for affordable access to power to cover most of the country by, 70 per cent, fromthe current 19.4 per cent,” Ms Rugwabiza said.

Early this year, the government signed a $24 million deal with an American-Israeli green entrepreneur, Yosef Abramowitz, toconstruct a 8.5MW solar project outside the capital.

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Run by Gigawatt Global, an American-Dutch solar power firm, the project is set to be operational this year and is expected toboost electricity supply by eight per cent.

The plant will feed into the national grid under a 25-year power purchase agreement signed with the state-owned EnergyWater and Sanitation Authority (EWSA), which currently controls generation and distribution of electricity.

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