Rwanda’s answer to its ongoing power crisis and a possible means to electrify the entire country may have came to light when the World Bank engaged in a major study: “Building Science, Technology, and Innovation Capacity in Rwanda: Developing Practical Solutions to Practical Problems.”
Previous geothermal energy studies on Rwanda have indicated good potential, however, have not yet proved commercially viable.
The Minister of Science and Technology, Prof. Romain Murenzi, said that the Rwandan government is “committed to ensuring that by 2020 our people will have home grown and practical solutions to their practical problems. In collaboration with universities and the private sector, we need to change the mind set of how our people look at science and technology – not as theory but as basis for tackling challenges facing our country.”
The World Bank, along with the recently created Rwanda Geoscientific Center, has established a two-track process to tap into Rwanda’s potential. Under track 1, dubbed ‘urgent’, the Bank says Rwanda should be supported to identify viable geothermal resources and generate 2-5 megawatts within three years. If the pilot phase proves satisfactory, Rwanda can expand production of geothermal energy to 30-50 megawatts.
Long-term capacity building for improved oversight and management of mining, hydrological, and geothermal operations are some of the components proposed for the second track. This will largely involve universities and Rwanda courting regional governments.
The US government has submitted proposals totaling over $900,000 for geological and geochemical research, and the German government, $400,000 for geothermal research. Available figures show that less than 10% of Rwandans have access to electricity which is also running at a shortfall of about 40%. Government estimates that by 2020, if the ongoing plans in the energy sector bear fruit, some 1.4 million jobs will be created.