The Ministry of Environment has announced that Rwandans will begin using methane gas for cooking in 2027, as part of a clean energy initiative aimed at reducing the reliance on firewood and charcoal. During a session with the Senate Committee on Economic Development and Finance on Tuesday, June 3, Minister of Environment Valentine Uwamariya said that preparations for the large-scale use of methane gas extracted from Lake Kivu are well underway. ALSO READ: Rwanda’s biggest methane power plant connected to national grid Gasmeth Energy, a Rwandan-registered firm, signed a deal with the government in 2019 to invest in the extraction, processing, and compressing methane gas from Lake Kivu. In August 2022, the company unveiled a $530 million plant in Karongi District where compressed natural gas (CNG) will be produced for cooking, vehicles and industrial use. “We see methane gas as a sustainable solution to reduce dependence on firewood and charcoal, Uwamariya told senators. Once production and distribution begin, priority will be given to high-energy-consuming institutions such as schools, which alone account for 45 percent of all firewood usage in the country. As [liquified petroleum gas] prices continue to rise, locally sourced methane will also help reduce costs and increase access to clean energy.” Lake Kivu has 60-70 cubic kilometres of methane, of which 44.7 cubic kilometres can be extracted, according to official estimates. Methane gas extracted from Lake Kivu is already used for power generation. Rising LPG prices Senator Pennine Uwimbabazi echoed calls for urgency to tame rising prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). “Gas prices have more than doubled over the last three years, from Rwf12,000 to over Rwf20,000 for a 12kg gas cylinder, Uwimbabazi said. We must accelerate methane gas adoption and complete gas storage facilities to shield consumers from price instability.” ALSO READ: REMA reassures public over Lake Kivu methane gas safety Uwamariya noted that to address existing supply gaps and stabilize gas prices, the government and private sector have begun constructing storage facilities in Rusororo Sector, Gasabo District that will store up to 15,000 cubic meters. “The infrastructure is expected to serve as a backup during potential disruptions in imported gas supply,” she added. According to data from the 7th Integrated Household Living Conditions Survey (EICV7) conducted in 2023/24, Rwandan households still rely on firewood or charcoal for cooking. Some 75 per cent of households use firewood, 18.8 percent use charcoal, and only 5.4 percent use gas or biogas. The Minister noted that firewood use remains dominant in rural areas, with 93 percent of households still relying on it. “As schools consume nearly half of all firewood used in the country, if we transition to methane gas, we could save vast amounts of trees annually,” she said. ALSO READ: Rwanda targets firewood-free cooking in schools by 2032 Other major firewood users include restaurants and hotels, although many of these have also begun transitioning to gas, still, a weekly average of 61,000 bags of charcoal are brought into Kigali. The government and private sector actors have been working to reduce the quantities of trees cut down for use in cooking. This includes initiatives that provide improved cookstoves that consume less energy than traditional options. Uwamariya cited data from Rwanda Energy Group (REG) that show that by 2024, more than 361,000 households had received improved cookstoves through a subsidised programme called Tekera Heza. Under the scheme, the government covers 70 percent of the cost, with beneficiaries contributing the remaining 30 percent. “The goal is to reach at least 500,000 households with clean cooking solutions. The initiative is being implemented by REG in partnership with the Development Bank of Rwanda (BRD), with support from the World Bank,” she said. To further support the transition to clean energy, the Ministry of Infrastructure estimates that $1.37 billion in investment is required by 2030 to cut charcoal use to 42 percent. ALSO READ: Inside major projects set to reduce reliance on wood fuel in Rwanda Senator Marie Rose Mureshyankwano urged the government to also consider industrial users of firewood, such as tea processing factories. “These factories consume massive quantities of wood, and their owners often say that switching to gas would reduce the flavour of tea,” she said. Uwamariya argued that gas does not affect the taste of tea. Flavour depends more on how the tea is grown, soil quality, and climate, not the fuel source used in processing,” she said.
