Climate Strategies

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Electricity Generation Assessment in Rwanda

Spatial Analysis of Utility-Scale Solar PV Grid Integration Costs

October 1, Washington, DC.  Under the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Power Africa East Africa Energy Program (EAEP), the Center for Climate Strategies (CCS) is continuing its assessment of the electricity generation resource potential for Rwanda to support the Rwanda Energy Group (REG) and the Rwanda Ministry of Infrastructure (MININFRA) in meeting growing national energy demand while also addressing other priorities, such as greenhouse gas (GHG) emission impacts, resilience, economic recovery, and investment.
 
The assessment covers a wide range of resources (hydro, wind, solar, geothermal, methane, waste to energy, and peat) and is conducted by CCS through geospatial analysis using a Geographic Information System (GIS) tool to identify physical resources availability and their technical potential, and through energy demand and supply modeling using the Low Emissions Analysis Platform (LEAP) tool to develop scenarios of Rwanda electricity generation systems. 

The assessment is expected to be completed by the end of December 2021 and will support the ongoing update of the Rwanda Least Cost Power Development Plan (LCPDP). It will be coupled with a technical capacity building program to enable REG and MININFRA staff to use the GIS and modeling tools in order to update the assessment in the future.