NewYork, Sept 26 ,2014: According to the new agreements made by the Rwandan Government with the European Union(EU) ,the latter finances Rwanda’s clean energy projects to develop sustainable sources of energy to maintain the country’s rapid growth.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame signed the support agreement in New York yesterday with Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, President of the European Commission, at the sideline of the Climate Change Summit.
It is expected that Rwanda will reap benefits worth €3.3 billion ($4b) from project along with five other African nations.
About €2b will be disbursed to five African countries, including Rwanda, Cabo Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, and Togo.
Barroso added that the EU will extend its financial and technical support to countries that have demonstrated commitment to address energy issues through sustainable energy investments.
The fund will cater for various projects such as research and development, carbon pricing as means to raise funds to invest in low carbon energy. Africa will benefit by selling carbon credits to larger emitters.
According to the studies conducted, Africa is using only 12% of the world’s hydropower potential and is currently exploiting less than 10.
President Kagame said Rwanda wants to produce and consume more, not less. “But we want to do so sustainably and affordably. Ultimately, it is about faster progress for our people,” he added.
The EU says supporting energy production projects opens up opportunities for the private sector to invest in sustainable energy.
Energy generation is expected to consist mainly of peat (255MW), methane (75MW), hydro (140MW) and solar (18.5 MW).
Today, Rwanda generates 115MW from hydro power (53%), thermal (46%) and a small percentage from methane and solar.
Meanwhile, the EU delegation in Rwanda said a technical team is scheduled meet to work out what portion of the €2b will be allocated to Rwanda.
