Energy Landscape of Rwanda and Institutional Framework

Abstract

This paper reviews Rwanda’s energy landscape. It looked into potentials energy resources, installed capacities and available technologies. Rwanda is well-endowed with energy resources, such as solar, biomass, hydro, and methane gas and geothermal, though most of these resources remain untapped. Energy is considered the most powerful keys for a country to measure its economy development. Therefore, the inter-paly between energy production and consumption, and is preccussor of the level of development. The access to clean energy is very paramount and brings along with it alot of socio-economic benefits to the citizens in terms of poverty reduction, cost effectiveness and safegaurding the environment. As a result of improving the service sector with emphasis on energy, regulatory, legal and institution framework measures, Rwanda has been, in 21st century, one of the ten fastest growing economies in the world. Among others, has fast growing energy accessibility rate of 8 % in 2008 that is currently standing at 23%. Rwanda has an ambitoius target to be achieved 70% access rate by 2017/2018. Hydro remains the major source of electricity; followed by solar which has high potential; biomass, at 85%, is Rwanda’s primary energy source; and lake Kivu methane gas is the new source of energy.