Optimizing renewable energy integration with low carbon technologies in Rwandan new housing projects development. Case study Busanza Housing Estate

Abstract

The government of Rwanda has initiated the development of Integrated Development Project Model Village (IDP-MV) since 2019 for resettling vulnerable and high-risk zone living people country wide, this is accompanied by providing basic infrastructure including access to clean electricity as firewood serves as primary energy source for most of habitants. Within the first developed IDP-MV, Biogas was integrated as the source of energy, it was designated to be used by the dwelling people in the village for cooking purpose, however its efficiency was quite low. Due to the ongoing resettlement of people, additional mechanisms for ensuring low-income communities have access to electricity have been identified. These mechanisms involve integrating sustainable and low-carbon technologies energy sources into new housing projects, thereby guaranteeing access to electricity and facilitating the transition towards a future that is both environmentally friendly and resilient The mechanism is in line with designing the solar system to be integrated on the rooftop of the building where the resettlement of people could be implemented, the purpose of the design is to analyze whether the energy to be harvested from the solar system is capable of meeting the community's energy needs, and any extra energy generated may be sold to the national grid for commercial purpose. The data were collected from Rwanda Meteorology Agency (RMA) and NASA library imbedded in the software, The software like google earth pro and PV system were utilized to analyze the data and found that the system is feasible, economical, profitable and environmentally friendly, and finally it is concluded that the project can be implemented countrywide owing to its advantages.