Rwanda inaugurates first wind power plant

Mount Jali is exposed to great winds, which in turn ensures the stability of the wind energy for the station.

Rwanda plans to raise its clean energy sources by more than 50 per cent by 2020.

In 2009, official statistics showed that Rwanda recorded a remarkable increase in key sectors of its economy, but such increase was not matched in the energy sector, due to the falling water level in rivers powering hydroelectric stations.

In June 2007, Africa’s biggest solar power station was installed on the Mount Jali with about fifty solar panels, to compensate for the shortage in hydroelectric energy, following the fall in the water levels.

Ndizeye, through his charity Rwindalectric, is set to commission a 12-month feasibility study to determine the wind capacity of Rwanda, which may cost about $50,000.

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 power 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 energy capacity of Rwanda, which may cost about $50,000. Before June this year, equipment that will measure the wind turbines capacity to determine how much electricity can be generated, should be on the ground.

The potential for geothermal power generation in Rwanda is currently estimated at about 170-300 MW. Rwanda’s current power production equals a total of about 60 MW at peak hours.

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