- A power purchase agreement (PPA) has been signed for the Rucanzogera mini hydropower project in Rwanda between Rwanda Energy Group (REG)and Norwegian company, Empower New Energy and its partners.
- The signing paves the way for construction of the project to commence.
Located in northern Provence of Rusiga, the project is a run-of-river hydroelectric power plant that does not require the construction of a dam to operate. The turbines rotate according to the flow of the river in which they are installed.
Once completed hydroplant will have a capacity of 1.9 MW. According to Empower New Energy, the project will generate cumulative savings of about US 67,500 per year for households in the target area by giving them access to cheaper energy through the grid. Approximately 10,000 people in rural Rwanda will benefit from the project
The project is being developed by a consortium consisting of the Norwegian company Empower New Energy, the Rwanda General Engineering Works Company (Tiger) and Malthe Winje, a company based in Oppegård, Norway.
According to the signed deal, the consortium is responsible for the import, export, supply, generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity in Rwanda. Overall cost of the project is US 7.9million which will be financed by the consortium and a grant worth US $500,000 from the Energy and Environment Partnership Trust Fund (EEP Africa).This is a dedicated clean energy credit line managed by the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) with funding from Austria, Finland and the NDF.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
