Africa-Press – Rwanda. The Rwandan government has announced plans to invest up to $1 billion (more than Rwf1,440 billion) in energy generation to meet rising demand driven by industrialisation.
Speaking shortly after new electricity tariffs were announced, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Yusuf Murangwa, said key projects include diversified energy sources, including solar power and nucluer technology.
“We currently generate about 400 megawatts (MW). But we will soon, say in five years, need about 1,000MW to be able to meet the energy demand of industries and tech services, such as data centres. This will require us some $1 billion in investment during that period,” Murangwa said in an interview with the national broadcaster RBA.
He said the number of Rwandan households connected to electricity has risen from 2 per cent in 2000 to 75 in 2025. The government targets to reach 100 per cent electricity access by 2029.
“Over the past 25 years, the government made a huge investment in energy generation and supply, but that’s not enough,” said Murangwa.
“Over the next four to five years, we will need to invest more in energy generation to reach universal access for households and to meet growing energy demand for industries and services.”
He said key projects such as the ongoing 250MW Nyabarongo Hydroelectric Project II, an upcoming 200MW solar power project. He said the government has its sights set on nuclear energy generation.
He added that the nuclear project is still under study and might be completed in the next three to five years.
Other projects that are poised to increase Rwanda’s energy generation capacity include methane gas extraction from Lake Kivu, which could produce up to 156MW. There’s also investment in electricity projects that are shared with neighbouring countries, such as Rusizi III, which is shared by Rwanda, Burundi and DR Congo.
Rwanda’s current installed capacity is about 430MW. Hydro sources generate 109MW, methane gas contributes 85.7MW, peat 85MW, while solar sources generate 12MW. Shared projects generate about 39MW, while imported electricity is about 106MW.
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