Rwanda is working with private firms to fast-track studies that will pave the way for setting up a cooking gas factory, said Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya, the Minister of Environment.
This is in the latest step to end reliance on wood fuel for cooking.
She was speaking at a press conference on Monday May 16, where she disclosed that the factory could be up within a year.
The announcement comes as Kigali readies to host the 2022 SEforALL Global Forum from May 17 to 19.
"Rwanda is open for green investments. Some of the investment opportunities include shifting from biomass energy to clean cooking energy. In one year ahead we expect to have a factory that will be producing cooking gas from methane gas,” she said.
The development also comes in the wake of the rising cost of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
The price of LPG rose to Rwf1, 400 per kilogramme in March this year, up from Rwf1,200 in December 2021.
And currently 12 kilogrammes of cooking gas go for at least Rwf18, 500, an increase from Rwf15,120 in December last year and Rwf12,600 before.
On the international market, one metric tonne of LPG rose from $770 to $920 from February to March 2022.
SEforALL Global Forum is taking place in Africa for the first time, and is being organised under the theme; "Driving action for a people-centred energy transition”.
The Forum is the landmark global gathering bringing people together to take stock of progress, showcase success and identify solutions to achieve faster, broader gains towards sustainable energy for all.
According to the organisers, it serves as a platform to broker new partnerships, spur investment, address challenges and drive action towards realising the Sustainable Development Goal number and a global clean energy transition.
Over 1,000 participants are expected in the conference that will also discuss clean cooking energy, according to Mujawamariya.
In February 2019, Rwanda inked a $400 million deal with Gasmeth Energy to extract and process methane into CNG for cooking, industrial use and vehicles.
However, it was delayed by various factors, including the outbreak Covid-19 pandemic.
The project involves the construction of an offshore gas extraction facility along with onshore gas processing and compression plants for CNG.
The project could serve 300-400,000 households who currently depend on wood fuel for cooking.
According to estimates from the Ministry of Infrastructure, the demand for LPG is set to rise to more than 240,000 tonnes by 2024 from 10,000 tonnes in 2017.
Rwanda has a target to reduce biomass consumption from 79 per cent in 2017 to 42 per cent by 2024.
A total investment of $1.37 billion is needed by 2030 to achieve such a government's target of reducing charcoal.
"The cooking gas demand has been rising but its prices also continue to rise. The feasibility studies to turn methane gas from Lake Kivu into cooking gas are gaining momentum. The methane gas was being used in different industries and now we want to turn it into cooking gas. We are doing our best to fast-track the project. We will be providing updates about any progress to the public,” added Ernest Nsabimana, the Minister of Infrastructure.
Rwanda open to more green investments
Mujawamariya said that Rwanda Green Fund (FONERWA) has mobilised over $200 million so far to fund green investments.
Meanwhile added that Rwanda has opened gates for investors to tap into the available green investment opportunities.
"These include assembling electric vehicles, turning waste into clean energy, shifting from biomass to clean cooking fuel, privatizing forest management, green buildings among many others to be able to achieve climate pledges known as NDCs by 2030,” she said.
She added: "Rwanda has a bold vision to be a carbon-neutral economy by 2050, and is one of the best places in the world for green investment. Achieving our NDCs requires an estimated investment of around 11 billion dollars, for which 5.3 billion is for adaptation initiatives and 5.7 billion is for mitigation actions.”