Rwanda News Agency/Agence Rwandaise d'Information (Kigali)
7 February 2008
Kigali — Rwanda is short of energy with a deficit of up to 40% of all its electricity needs required to run the expanding industrial sector and general business environment. The local utility provider can barely cope with the demand. Now, Mr. Jackson Ndizeye, a Rwandan living in the U.S. wants to have rural communities lit up using wind in not later than a year.
Mr. Ndizeye, through his own charity Rwindalectric, is to commission a 12-month feasibility study to determine the wind capacity of Rwanda, which may cost about $50,000. Before June this year, equipment that will measure the wind capacity to determine how much electricity can be generated, should be on the ground.
"The total cost of this equipment is around $15,750. Our organization has already purchased the most important component of the equipment, the Data Logger, and has enough funds to buy most of the remaining components", Ndizeye said in email exchanges with RNA.
"We are organizing a fundraising campaign to purchase the most expensive of these components, a 60 meter tower, which costs $12,800." Mr. said once this tower is purchased, which could be anytime before June, "we will ship the whole equipment to Rwanda to start operation".
The 60-meter wind measurement equipment is capable of capturing the speed of wind at a high elevation and determining the amount of electricity that can be produced.
Mr. Ndizeye, a graduate from La Roche College in the U.S., with a Bachelors of Science in Information Technology and a Minor in Mathematics, is likely to take the country by storm. The University of Philadelphia is also behind the project.
He already put the project to government in 2005, and officials at the energy ministry should all smiles. At the moment, electricity supply is marked with load-shedding whereby as some places are lit-up, others have to stay in darkness.
Some businesses have resorted to fuel-powered generators, which makes business costly due to the existing high pump prices.
In January 2004, the energy crisis broke out in the country that resulted into a loss equivalent to 40% of total electricity production. The very low level of lakes Burera and Rulindo (Northern Rwanda), according to government caused the utility provider Electrogaz to reduce generation significantly.
This meant that Ntaruka dam electricity supply dropped from 11.25 MW to 2.5 MW. As for Mukunga dam, it could only manage producing a meager 5 MW, down from 12.5 MW.
Government backing
In 2005, Government shipped in mega generators that were able to bring down the supply gap with a 25-30 MW. But as oil prices rocket through uncontrollably, energy officials in Kigali just do not find this sustainable.
"Despite this additional thermal generation, it is clear that the country is still in deficit and there is pressing need to conclude public-private partnership agreements and avail electricity if we want to market Rwanda as an investment destination", writes Ing. Albert Butare, the Energy State Minister, in a May 2005 recognition letter to Mr. Ndizeye.
The Minister reaffirmed government support to Rwindalectric for the wind electricity initiative that according to Mr. Ndizeye should add up to 10MW to 50MW of the power that the nation needs.
Mr. Ndizeye told RNA that his project would largely target rural communities. In Phase-One of the project, an institute is to be established, that will collaborate with Rwanda's technical school to teach Rwandans how to build small scale wind turbines. These have already been made and used successfully in Kenya by WindCruise.
"These small scale wind turbines can be installed on certain facilities, such as medical centers, in very remote locations in rural Rwanda", explained Ndizeye.
For the second phase, a Wind Farm will be put up. This is a site where there will be more than two large scale wind turbines, capable of producing a range of electric powers (10MW to 50MW). The electricity produced at the Wind Farm will be dumped into the national grid to complement what is being produced by Electrogaz, at a regulated cost, said Ndizeye.
Big donors
The number of villages that could benefit from the project, according to Mr. Ndizeye will be determined after how much wind there is on any particular site has been determined.
However, to get this project running involves big resources that mean big investments. And indeed, Mr. Ndizeye concurs that Rwindalectric, which will establish the wind project on a charity basis cannot do this alone. Our financial support is made of grant makers and donors, he told RNA from Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania).
Rwindalectric has already engaged the World Bank that has apparently "shown interest already". "As far as sustaining our projects in Rwanda, we have a plan to work with rural community banking systems and international donors such as the World Bank and UNDP, to name a few", said Ndizeye.
It is expected that rural community banking systems (cooperatives) will help finance maintenance of the equipment, while international donors will finance the implementation of the project.
Other similar wind power generating initiatives have been tested in Rwanda such as a project in Eastern province that pumps water from the ground for a sizable community in that semi arid area. There is another installed in Kigali that generates.
Apart from hydro and thermal power options, a mega German-funded solar plant is installed just outside Kigali. Extraction is also at advanced stages for methane gas from Lake Kivu - in north western Rwanda. The gas, say experts, will be used to power up generators for electricity.
Meanwhile, the country imports electricity from eastern DRC lighting parts of the Western province. Rwanda has agreements to supply power to the south-western tip of Uganda.
Following an event in 2006, in which Radnor High school (U.S.) students were discussing tolerance of differences - using Rwanda as case point, the audience decided to do something. Then organizer of the event, Briana Bower is a member of directors of Rwindalectric.
In December 2006, students and staff from the university donated over $2.300 towards wind energy project for rural communities in Rwanda. Rwindalectric bought the first Data Logger - which is the most important component of the equipment necessary. (End)
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