The Research and Capacity Building for Sustainable Development, through the EU funded project called Climate Resilience Agriculture; is conducting a country wide research on enhancing the use of renewable energy in urban settings of Rwanda: Opportunities and Challenges.

Rwanda has seen impressive economic growth in the past few years resulting from policy driven initiatives. However, one of the key challenges to economic development in Rwanda has been the provision of reliable and cost-effective energy. As a result, the country has planned to expand its renewable energy portfolio to meet its energy demand and mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Meeting these goals requires a robust policy framework that considers the perspective of the public. 

As with many other sub–Saharan African countries, Rwanda has a considerable level of useful renewable energy sources including biomass, solar, hydropower, and geothermal energy which is still under deep investigations. On this occasion we will develop an understanding of the status of renewable energy use in Rwanda, a landlocked country of 26 338 km2, situated in East-Central Africa with a population of around 13 million people and 238.36 MW of total power generation capacity. Among other development strategies, the country has targeted 100% electrification by 2024 with 70% on-grid and 30% off-grid. As of March 2022, the cumulative connectivity rate is 69.80% of Rwandan households including 49.23% connected to the national grid and 20.57% accessing through off-grid systems (mainly solar).

Like many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Rwanda is transitioning from using non-renewable to renewable energy sources. A 2021 Report by the Rwanda Ministry of Infrastructure reported that 62.3% of total power generated were delivered from renewable energy source. The same review had reported only 53% in 2018

This research will identify the current status of renewable energy in Rwanda, untapped opportunities, potential challenges, and recommendation to scale up energy use in Rwanda.