Nyagatare gets cheap solar power

A versatile solar powered lighting kit that can be used to light up clinics, shops or schools, or as a back up to an unreliable power supply in areas that do not have access to the power grid. Net

Hundreds of homesteads in the Eastern Province will soon access off-grid power, thanks to a new rural electrification project “Light up a village” that will provide them cheap solar panels. 

The project that has been launched in Nyagatare District in the Eastern Province is part of efforts by the private sector to support government’s rural electrification campaign, said George Heinemann, the managing director Barefoot Power Rwanda, the firm that is spearheading the initiative.

He noted that a strong public-private partnership is crucial for the rural electrification drive to be successful. Heinemann said Barefoot Power Rwanda will provide decentralised pico solar electrification infrastructure to the rural people with no access to the national grid.

Already, over 100 homes in Nyagatare district have been installed with solar energy in the first phase of the project that is expected to be rolled out across the country. A solar kit that lights fours bulds and has a phone charger costs Rwf95,000, while a small one is at Rwf15,000 to install. “We have started with Nyagatare, but we hope to have covered the whole country by the end of next year,” Heinemann said.

 It costs $15,000 (about Rwf10.2m) to provide solar kits to about 100 homesteads, he added. 

The Light up a village project also supports the UN development goals of promoting social development by providing affordable renewable energy to low-income earners.

“This is an 

opportunity

 for stakeholders to contribute to the socio-economic development of Rwanda by spearheading the rural electrification campaign,” Heinemann said.

If the project is rolled out across the country, it will greatly relieve domestic consumers the problem of increasing power  outages, sector players said. This could also give the Energu Holding Company time to sort out its power generation and supply challenges, they added.

According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Infrastructure, the country needs to invest about $3b to increase access to electricity from 17 per cent to 70 percent by 2018. Less than 16 per cent of the population has access to electricity, but in rural areas it is about 2 per cent.  The government targets to increase electricity generation from the current 110MW to about 563MW by 2018.

Last month, the former Energy, Water and Sanitation Authority was split into two companies, the Energy Holding Company that will manage energy development and electricity and the Water and Sanitation Company to deal with water resources and distribution. 

According to Prof. Silas Lwakabamba, the Minister for Infrastructure, the move will promote efficiency and transparency in the development and distribution of electricity across the country.