Rwanda’s major Rivers have proven 333 potential sites for Micro-hydropower countrywide. Opportunities exist in Micro and Small Hydropower projects and shared regional hydropower projects with East Africa (EAC) Partners.
A couple of micro and mini small Hydropower Projects are currently under construction. The largest domestic hydropower project is Nyabarongo I, with an installed capacity of 28 MW. Some shared hydropower projects with neighboring countries are also underway, including a 145MW project shared by Burundi, DRC, and Rwanda and an 80 MW project to be jointly developed by Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda.
21 hydropower plants are grid-connected. They include national and shared regional projects (Rusizi I and II HPPs). Hydropower makes up approx. 47% of the total installed capacity. Hydropower plants are either publicly owned and operated, leased to private companies, or privately owned (IPP).
Mini and Small Hydropower
Currently, 11 micro hydropower plants MW exist in Rwanda as isolated networks. These plants were originally developed by the GoR, and handed over to private sector management to increase the private sector contribution to energy generation. GoR has recently leased out these sites to a private investor to better operate, upgrade and connect them to the grid. There are also Pico-hydropower plants in the range of 1-10 kW which are either publicly owned or operated by the local communities or entirely private.
By December 2016, 7 privately developed hydropower plants with a total capacity of 16 MW were under different phases of construction, with commercial operation dates (COD) planned in 2019. Feasibility studies conducted by Rwanda Energy Group indicated potential in micro hydropower generation in over 40 smaller sites.
Medium Hydropower
Nyabarongo II (43.5MW) is a multipurpose project expected to cater to water supply, irrigation as well as electrical power generation. The project is also envisaged to mitigate the perpetual flooding downstream of the Nyabarongo River that has proved to be hazardous in recent years. The project is fully funded by the Government of Rwanda is expected to start end of 2019 and expected to be completed in 2025. The project consists of a 48m high concrete gravity dam with a crest of 228m and a surface power station with 2*8.5MW Keplan turbines just situated at the dam toe.
Rusizi III (145MW) supported by the World Bank, EU, AfDB among others with an expected investment capital of $450 million and a completion date in 2024. The project is being developed under the CEPGL umbrella for Rwanda, Burundi, and DRC. Rusizi III hydropower project is planned to generate 145MW and the power output is shared among the three partner states with Rwanda getting 48.3MW and the rest is shared between Burundi and DRC. The project consists of a 105m long dam crest whose height is 20.5m, 2.28km Headrace Tunnel, and a surface power station with 3*50 MW Francis Units.
Rusumo Falls Hydro-Electric Power (80MW) falls. The construction of the project started in 2017 and is planned to be completed end of 2020. The project is being developed under NELSAP umbrella for Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania funded by the World Bank.
Rusumo falls Hydropower Project is planned to generate 80 MW and the power output will be shared equally by three countries. The project consists of a concrete dam with crest length of 150m, a Headrace Tunnel of 460m, and a surface power station with 3*30MW Kaplan turbines.
Some of the Key players in Hydropower sub-sector
