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Thursday 8th June saw the official opening in Rwanda of a huge, green energy power station. As German President Angela Merkel persuaded EU leaders to commit to greenhouse gas cuts, a small African nation was making an environmental statement of its own. The solar power plant is the biggest on the African continent, and has been built with the help of Merkel’s compatriots. Specifically, with support from Germany’s Federal State of Rhineland Palatinate.

Inaugurated by Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda, the plant is capable of producing 250 kilowatts, which boosts the landlocked nation’s electricity generating capacity to 50 megawatts. This seems like small fry compared to a plant like Drax, the UK’s biggest coal-fired power station, which has a huge output capacity of 4,000 megawatts. But Rwanda’s energy needs are also far more modest, and by building in renewable energy sources at an early stage, the country will reduce the need for fossil fuels in the future. As a small country, it’s especially important for Rwanda to avoid over-reliance on more resource-rich nations in order to safeguard long-term energy security and enable development.

“In 2004, we (Rwanda) experienced a major power crisis brought about by the falling of water levels in our water bodies and this was at a time when Rwanda had set the pace of development,” said Kagame. He also felt international co-operation on energy issues was a key priority.

The plant itself is sited at Jali hill in Gasabo District, part of central Rwanda’s Kigali Ngali province. Funding for the project came from both the Rhineland Palatinate, which has been supporting Rwandan projects for a quarter of a century, and Stadtwerke Mainz, a German energy company. Together, they ploughed around 1 million Euros into the project. The remaining 200,000 Euros needed for the plant were provided by Rwanda’s Ministry of Infrastructure.

Currently, more than 80% of Africa’s population does not have a regular electricity supply. With much of the continent lying in the equatorial zone, daylight is limited to about 12 hours per day. A lack of electricity makes simple tasks impossible after dark, with a knock-on effect on efficiency and productivity. It is perhaps only with regard to energy that Africa, after 6pm, remains a dark continent!

Achim Steiner, of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), is positive about the future, pointing out that “the continent is rich in renewable resources which can benefit the majority of people within a few years.” However, he does warn that the continent risks being left behind in an increasingly energy-demanding world economy. Access to computers and the internet could be a key factor in Africa’s development, and corporations are queueing up to design and donate “the one hundred dollar laptop”. But without electricity, such initiatives become unsustainable gimmicks.

Yet there is little reason why Africa should lag behind the rest of the world when it comes to energy. Endowed with limitless sunshine, vast lakes and rivers, the continent could be a showcase for renewable energy generation. Rwanda’s solar power plant is hopefully the first in a long line of initiatives which harness Africa’s natural riches for the benefit of her own people.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 8th, 2007 at 7:22 pm and is filed under Environment, Science, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.