Rwanda, an African country in Central East Africa is now stepping up its efforts to secure a sustainable energy future. With a rapidly growing population, wide variety of natural resources and an ambitious development agenda, Rwanda can make remarkable stripes in its energy sector. With a population of over 13 million and an annual growth rate of nearly 6.3%, Rwanda faces a pressing challenge to meet its escalating energy demands. But the country holds immense potential for harnessing renewable energies and can position itself as a role model for other nations in the region. Coupled with innovative policies and strategic partnerships, this burgeoning energy sector can propel Rwanda towards a greener and more prosperous future.
Rwanda is well-endowed with energy resources, but at the same time most of them remain untapped. Currently energy is considered the most powerful key for a country to measure its economic development. The access to clean energy is very significant and brings along with it a lot of socio-economic benefits to the country’s citizens in terms of poverty reduction, cost effectiveness and safeguarding the environment.
In Rwanda, installed electric power generation capacity is very low and stands at 41.25MW from both hydro and power plants running on heavy fuel oil or diesel. Hydropower accounts for 26.74 MW, while thermal power generation is now at 14.5 MW.
The country’s energy sources for electricity generation include hydropower, geothermal, methane gas, peat, solar, wind and waste energy. Renewable energy resources such as hydro, solar and biomass play a major role in the country’s energy mix. The primary energy balance in Rwanda consisted of biomass at 93.1%, fuel 6%, and electricity 0.9%.
Although Rwanda has a big variety of natural energy resources, the country currently has an installed electricity generation capacity of only 226.7 MW from its 45 power plants for a population of about 13 million in 2021.
Rwanda’s services sector, i.e. wholesale and retail, transport, storage, and communications, real estate, and business service, has supplanted the agricultural sector by contributing a high proportion to the GDP. This has in turn led to increased demand on energy.
The current national rate of electrification in Rwanda is estimated to 54.5% (39.7% grid-connected and 14.8% off-grid connected systems). This clearly demonstrates that numerous people don’t have proper access to electricity. Moreover there are still some blackout-related problems. However, Rwanda plans to achieve 512MW installed power generation capacity by 2023-2024.
The rise in the Rwanda population and in the whole world, the growth of industrial activities, and the improvement of living standards directly affects frequent outages due to unbalance between supply and consumer demand. The electricity demand for the population is growing every day and has become a major concern, and it will also be much more needed in the future years.
It is worth saying that relying on solar power and hydropower is not reliable due to the fact that they are unstable sources of energy. Nowadays its use is a result of a lack of electricity access. Traditional fossil fuels such as oil and coal are continually depleted and caused emissions of carbon dioxide and global warming.
At the same time, nuclear power can play a special role in diversifying Rwanda’s energy balance and improving the energy situation in the region.
Nuclear power has the potential to significantly contribute to a nation’s energy security. Utilizing the process of nuclear fission to generate electricity, nuclear power plants offer a stable and reliable source of electricity and can produce large amounts of electricity without emitting greenhouse gases. It is particularly essential for countries with limited access to traditional energy resources such as Rwanda. Nuclear energy also provides a consistent baseload power supply, enabling a more secure and resilient energy grid.
According to the World Nuclear Association, currently about 30 countries are considering, planning or starting nuclear power programmes and among them is Rwanda, which started taking its first steps towards nuclear energy. Rwanda has long been interested in establishing domestic nuclear expertise. According to Rwanda’s Atomic Energy Board (RAEB) Chief Executive Fidel Ndahayo, to this end, the country has sent students on education and training programmes to various countries with decades of experience in the nuclear sector. In addition, Rwanda signed a new Country Program Framework with the IAEA and established an Atomic Energy Board with the explicit goal of shepherding the country’s nuclear ambitions.
The country has collaborated with Russia to train nuclear scientists and construct the Center for Nuclear Science and Technology (CNST). The CNST will become a modern platform for carrying out a whole range of scientific research and practical application of nuclear technologies. It will allow the production of radioisotopes for widespread use in industry and agriculture as well as in healthcare, thus addressing the issue of lack of cancer treatment. Moreover, on the basis of the Center, it will be possible to produce radiopharmaceuticals, study the structures of viruses, develop new drugs, and sterilize medical products.
Nuclear technologies can not only provide the country with energy, but also make a significant contribution to the development of medicine. Over the past 10 years, Rwanda has made remarkable progress in the field of health. Therefore, in 2020 the country embarked on the path of applying nuclear medicine — a modern radiotherapy oncology center was opened at the Rwanda Military Hospital. Furthermore, the future CNST can play a big role in this direction. The Center сan offer Rwanda tools to effectively combat cancer, which place a heavy burden on the country’s health care. The cyclotron included in the CNST configuration, which produces radionuclides for the needs of nuclear medicine, will allow the country not only to solve this problem at the national level, but also to become a regional medical hub in this area.
Holding of the Africa Energy Expo by Rwanda in February 2024 also shows the country’s desire for energy independence. The event aims to showcase the latest advancements, technologies, innovations in the energy industry while fostering collaboration and discussing sustainable solutions for Africa’s energy challenges. With this Expo Rwanda not only boosts its international standing, but it also creates a platform for knowledge exchange and capacity building. Also hosting the Africa Energy Expo promotes investment in Rwanda’s energy sector. The event creates a conducive environment for networking, partnerships, and collaborations between Rwandan companies and international entities. This can potentially attract foreign direct investment and technology transfer, accelerating the growth of the energy sector and contributing to Rwanda’s economic diversification.
As Rwanda takes steps towards diversifying its energy mix, the prospects look promising for the country to tap into its vast renewable energy potential fully. With the introduction of nuclear energy into its energy balance, Rwanda can further reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and contribute significantly to global efforts of mitigating climate change. The country’s emphasis on nuclear energy has not only helped reduce the country’s reliance on expensive imports but has also improved the livelihoods of Rwandans, particularly those living in rural areas. With the implementation of innovative strategies and interest in the latest nuclear technologies, it is clear that Rwanda is stepping towards a brighter and more sustainable future.
