RUBAVU - The construction of a $3 million (approx. Frw1.6b) biomass power station will start soon at the country’s giant brewery "Bralirwa” plant in Rubavu District, Western Province.

The plan was unveiled on Wednesday at Stipp Hotel in Kigali during the signing of an agreement between Bralirwa and Biomass Renewable Energy-Rwanda (BRER).
BRER, a local private firm, will build the new bio energy plant with capacity of 600 kilowatts.

Officials said it is the largest project of its kind in the country.

"The agreement fits within our environmental protection mission of using renewable energy,” Door Plantega, the Managing Director of Bralirwa, said.

She appealed that the initiative should get unanimous attention it deserves to fight energy crisis in the country.

The State Minister for Energy and Communication, Eng. Albert Butare, said: "Projects like this one clearly demonstrate that we can reduce energy crisis in the country with renewable energy.”

Butare assured project initiators that the government was ready to give necessary support to ensure that project becomes a success.

The plant will use brewery wastes and is expected to be operational in the next twelve months.

 "We are going to use German technology called ‘Rottaler Modell’ that fights energy crisis using wastes as raw materials for that,” Andrew Kanyonya, the head of BRER, said. 

He said they expect to use 80 percent of wastes from Bralirwa plant while the remaining 20 percent would be sourced from Rubavu town.

Apart from electricity generation, the plant is expected to take a central role in environmental protection such as emission reduction and cleanness in Rubavu town.
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