News Flash
- Rwanda has pivoted away from diesel power plants to hydro and gas power.
- In June this year they turned off all its diesel power plants as the country’s new hydropower and methane gas sources capacity increased to offset the need for diesel generate power.
This was confirmed by Infrastructure Minister, Mr Jimmy Gasore, who on the weekend said “Two new power plants, Rusumo Hydro Project and Shema Power Lake Kivu Ltd were commissioned recently, which facilitated the decommission of diesel power plants.”
The Rusumo Hydro Project is a joint scheme shared by Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania. Upon full operation, it is expected to generate 80MW, with each country getting 26.6MW. Shema Power Lake Kivu Ltd is a methane gas power generation plant that aims at generating 56MW.
All five of Rwanda’s diesel power plants which generated around 27% of the country’s power are now mothballed.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
