Editor,Refer to the article, “Will solar deliver electricity “quickly, quickly?”” (Sunday Times, January 5). As our sole daily newspaper, this is the kind of reporting we need: in-depth reporting on the most of our critical national problems and also attempting to provide rational reasoning to help point policymakers to possible solutions. This article achieves that, thank you The New Times. By suggesting solar as a possible national resort for domestic electricity, I personally believe it’s possible to actually do so and we have enough power to run factories. Many friends I know have to shut down when there’s power outage as they can’t afford generators.My son runs a small salon de coiffure where he employs three other youths but they are out of business whenever EWSA disconnects our area. While it’s not all, solar is at least one of the leading viable solutions for our short- and medium-term electricity needs.Rwamuhumbu, Rwanda******************Will solar deliver electricity “quickly, quickly?” The answer is yes and no. First, solar can indeed answer our short- and medium-term electricity needs if the government can wholly invest in it as a serious independent source of power.What we have now is a partial approach which, to me, is lukewarm. I think there are plenty of private sector opportunities that would create a lot of jobs if we backed solar energy as a serious national alternative.The main reason why we can’t go solar is the difficulty involved in putting it on the grid...we can’t have two grids (one for solar and another for hydro) – two would be very expensive. The viable alternative of going for solar as an off-grid option brings in issues of affordability for all Rwandans.If the private sector is involved, the prices might be influenced by the market forces as is the case now and defeat the national cause of having everyone connected. I would go on but I think everything depends on how long the government is willing to back the initiative.I thank The New Times for this extensive, well-researched reporting.Darius Arinda, Rwanda******************This article is a good solution oriented one. There are, however, some areas to be looked into: how to effectively and efficiently manage solar energy project for rural electrification. It has to be headed by someone who’s highly qualified and committed.The project manager should be given independence to take appropriate technical decisions without any hindrance. It should be run in a sustainable way and given full support.Brown, Rwanda
