P 270531Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY KIGALI
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6261
INFO AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA PRIORITY 
AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS PRIORITY 
AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA PRIORITY 
AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM PRIORITY 
AMEMBASSY KAMPALA PRIORITY 
AMEMBASSY KINSHASA PRIORITY 
AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 
AMEMBASSY NAIROBI PRIORITY 
AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY

UNCLAS KIGALI 000531 
 
 
EEB JOAN WADELTON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EINV ENRG ETRD RW
SUBJECT: RWANDA PUSHING FOR "CLEAN AND GREEN" ENERGY 
 
REF: KIGALI 141 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY:  The Government of Rwanda (GOR) is pressing 
forward with development of diversified renewable energy 
sources to satisfy the majority of its power generation needs 
by 2012.  Methane gas from Lake Kivu, hydroelectric and 
geothermal power will provide the bulk of its "on the grid" 
electrical needs, but solar and biogas will also play a key 
role in providing light, cooking fuel and power to more 
remote rural areas.  Power efficient appliances and lighting 
will help reduce consumption.  Already, 80 percent of wood 
fuel comes from "renewable" forests.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U)  During an August 15-19 visit, EEB Senior Economic 
Advisor Joan Wadelton met with government officials, health 
clinics, entrepreneurs and NGOs to learn more about Rwanda's 
progress in developing renewable energy.  Government 
officials in the Ministry of Infrastructure (MININFRA) told 
her they are working to make Rwanda 100 percent "clean and 
green" by 2012.  The officials acknowledged that 45 percent 
of the country's current 69 MW power production comes from 
diesel and heavy fuel generators, but said they hoped to 
replace this capacity with hydroelectric and clean burning 
methane power by 2012. 
 
 
Rwanda on Track to Clean and Green Power 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) MININFRA Donor Coordinator Eva Paul told Wadelton 
Rwanda is on track to achieve its energy goals and that "the 
political will is there."  United States-based Contour Global 
is working to extract methane gas accumulating in Lake Kivu 
to provide 100MW of power to the national grid by 2012 
(reftel).  Paul said methane is "renewing" at a rate of 15 
percent annually and added that new investment in follow-on 
Lake Kivu methane projects could add an additional 200 MW 
within five years.   Construction of two new hydroelectric 
plants will add 37MW to the national grid within three years. 
 Additionally, the governments of Rwanda, the Democratic 
Republic of Congo (DRC), Burundi and Tanzania are planning 
additional multinational hydro projects in Rusizi and Rusumo, 
she said. 
 
¶4. (U) Rwanda's geothermal potential is still in the 
exploratory stage but initial tests indicate strong potential 
in the Northern Province around Volcanoes National Park. 
Paul explained that Kenyan-Kengen has discovered "reservoirs" 
at above 150 degrees centigrade at depths of 4,000 meters. 
She added that initial surveys indicate the reservoirs are 
commercially viable. 
 
Cow Power 
--------- 
 
¶5. (U) Addressing "off grid" energy needs, the GOR has begun 
to supply 150,000 rural families with biogas digesters fed by 
cow dung and household waste.  The digesters generate enough 
methane gas to power cook stoves and gas lights.  The gas can 
also be used to power small refrigerators.  MININFRA Senior 
Advisor Gerard Hendriksen explained that Rwanda has already 
equipped all of its prisons with biogas digesters and plans 
to install similar equipment in the country's secondary 
schools.  Hendriksen added that 80 percent of Rwanda's 
cooking fuel currently comes from "reforested" eucalyptus 
wood but that biogas has health and convenience advantages 
over wood fuel. 
 
¶6. (U) NGOs and development agencies such as USAID are 
assisting the GOR electrify off-grid health clinics and 
administrative centers with solar power.  Although only 6 
percent of the population currently has access to the 
national power grid, the GOR plans to electrify all health 
clinics and administrative centers by 2012 using solar power 
where necessary.  The government also wants to set up "solar 
hubs" in rural areas that would provide power to rural 
communities by charging batteries that could be used to light 
homes at night. 
 
American Entrepreneurs Lead the Charge 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (U) American entrepreneurs are taking the lead in 
providing solar power solutions to rural communities.  Sam 
Dargan, CEO of Great Lakes Solar Energy, told Wadelton he was 
interested in providing solar appliances to rural 
communities--not for social or conservation reasons--but 
because it was profitable.   Dargan explained that most rural 
communities in Central Africa were desperate for light and 
basic solar powered appliances such as cell phone chargers. 
He estimated the market for such appliances to be nine 
million consumers in Rwanda alone.  Dargan noted that 
solar-powered lights sold at $20 were much cheaper than 
kerosene lights, which typically cost a family $10 per month 
in kerosene. 
 
¶8. (U) Josh Kefauver, COO of United States-based Manna 
Energy, is working with the GOR to equip rural communities 
and secondary schools with solar powered water purifiers 
using ultraviolet light to kill harmful bacteria.  Manna 
Energy hopes to earn a 20 percent return on investment by 
cashing in carbon credits earned by using solar power--rather 
than traditional wood-burning stoves--to purify water.  Manna 
Energy will also equip secondary schools with fuel-efficient 
cooking stoves that will reduce wood consumption by 70 
percent, Kefauver said. 
 
 
Donor Good Intentions Not Always Helpful 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (U) Both government officials and entrepreneurs told 
Wadelton that successful renewable energy projects must have 
a private sector market orientation to be sustainable. 
Dargan noted that most "donor" models were not 
market-oriented and that as a result donors were not "held 
accountable" for poor product design or service.  Dargan, 
citing an example of donor-provided solar powered cell phone 
chargers to health care workers, said such practices made it 
more difficult for him to sell similar products for a profit. 
 Free donor-provided resources have inhibited private sector 
investment in renewable energy, he stated. 
 
Regulatory Environment Crucial 
------------------------------ 
 
¶10. (U) Anthony Simm, Executive Manager for Stadtwerke Mainz 
(a German company operating the largest solar array in 
Rwanda--or Africa) told Wadelton the right "regulatory" 
environment was crucial to encouraging investment in 
renewable energy.  Simm explained that solar energy could not 
compete with fossil fuel power at current prices if the local 
regulatory authority did not factor in the non-commercial 
benefits of solar power--such as diversifying energy sources 
and reducing carbon emissions.  Simm said the high up-front 
installation costs of solar power could take twenty-thirty 
years to pay off, unless the regulatory authority offered 
subsidies or tax incentives to encourage such investment. 
 
¶11. (U) COMMENT:  Rwanda is moving rapidly and thoughtfully 
towards a "clean and green" energy future.  Encouragement of 
the private sector will be crucial to insure the effort 
maintains its pace and is sustainable.  Careful 
implementation of regulatory measures encouraging investment 
in green energy could help.  Donors, in their eagerness to 
develop Rwanda, should be careful not to distort the emerging 
market for renewable energy products by giving them away for 
free when there is a private sector option. 
 
¶12. (U) Senior Economic Advisor Joan Wadelton has not cleared 
on this cable. 
 
 
SYMINGTON