Energy Poverty, Green Architecture and Local Solutions in Rwanda (Dissertation Sample)

Energy Poverty, Green Architecture and Local Solutions in Rwanda
Abstract
Energy poverty has been identified as a significant obstacle in the achievement of social and economic development goals. This issue is particularly problematic in the African region, compared to the rest of the developing countries. Given this background, this study examines the issue of energy poverty and its possible solutions, with a focus on green design architecture buildings and local initiatives like farming for the generation of sustainable energy in the country of Rwanda. Multiple case studies of different projects in different parts of Rwanda are analysed qualitatively in order to examine the effects of green design architecture buildings and promotion of local initiatives in the generation of sustainable energy. The findings show that Rwanda is suffering from acute energy poverty. The findings show the need for significant investment in modern energy services in the country.
The findings indicate that traditional methods combined with appropriate waste management and thermal mechanisms can provide green design architecture buildings both in Kigali and in the urban areas of Rwanda. Thus cost effective green design architecture buildings can be developed through carefully selecting the imported materials and balancing them with the materials which are available naturally and locally. The solutions are also applicable at the local level: by including local people - especially through farming initiatives - the promotion of sustainable energy and energy efficiency can be encouraged, mainly in the rural areas. Overall, it can be concluded that to ensure the energy interventions in supporting the development agenda of the country, integrated energy planning, together with a focus on the externalities in relation to environment and poverty, is required.
Contents
 TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc409974190"
I. Introduction  PAGEREF _Toc409974190 \h
5
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc409974191"
1.1. Background of the Study  PAGEREF _Toc409974191 \h
5
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc409974192"
1.2. Problem Statement  PAGEREF _Toc409974192 \h
7
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc409974193"
1.3. Research Questions, Aim and Objectives  PAGEREF _Toc409974193 \h
8
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc409974194"
1.4. Research Methods and Sources  PAGEREF _Toc409974194 \h
8
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc409974195"
1.5. Limitations  PAGEREF _Toc409974195 \h
8
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc409974196"
1.5. Chapter Outline  PAGEREF _Toc409974196 \h
8
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc409974197"
II. Review of Literature  PAGEREF _Toc409974197 \h
9
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc409974198"
2.1. Introduction  PAGEREF _Toc409974198 \h
9
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc409974199"
2.2. Concepts and Definitions  PAGEREF _Toc409974199 \h
9
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc409974200"
2.3. Measurement of Energy Poverty  PAGEREF _Toc409974200 \h
10
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc409974201"
2.4. Green Architecture Buildings and Energy Efficiency  PAGEREF _Toc409974201 \h
11
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc409974202"
2.5. Local Solutions for Sustainable Energy  PAGEREF _Toc409974202 \h
12
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc409974203"
2.6. Research Gaps and Conclusion  PAGEREF _Toc409974203 \h
13
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc409974204"
III. Methodology  PAGEREF _Toc409974204 \h
15
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc409974205"
3.1. Introduction  PAGEREF _Toc409974205 \h
15
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc409974206"
3.2. Methods Considered and Justification of the Present Method  PAGEREF _Toc409974206 \h
15
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc409974207"
3.3. Quantitative and Qualitative Methods  PAGEREF _Toc409974207 \h
15
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc409974208"
3.4. Data Sources  PAGEREF _Toc409974208 \h
16
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc409974209"
3.5.Conclusion  PAGEREF _Toc409974209 \h
16
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc409974210"
IV Findings  PAGEREF _Toc409974210 \h
17
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc409974211"
4.1. Introduction  PAGEREF _Toc409974211 \h
17
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc409974212"
4.2. Energy Poverty in Rwanda  PAGEREF _Toc409974212 \h
17
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc409974213"
4.3. Green Design Architecture Building Projects  PAGEREF _Toc409974213 \h
19
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc409974214"
4.4.Local Initiatives  PAGEREF _Toc409974214 \h
22
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc409974215"
4.5. Conclusion  PAGEREF _Toc409974215 \h
23
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc409974216"
5. Discussion  PAGEREF _Toc409974216 \h
24
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc409974217"
5.1.Acute Energy Poverty in Rwanda  PAGEREF _Toc409974217 \h
24
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc409974218"
5.2.Green Architecture Design and Energy Poverty  PAGEREF _Toc409974218 \h
25
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc409974219"
5.3. Sustainable Energy through Local Initiatives  PAGEREF _Toc409974219 \h
25
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc409974220"
6. Conclusion and Recommendations  PAGEREF _Toc409974220 \h
27
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc409974221"
6.2. Recommendations  PAGEREF _Toc409974221 \h
28
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc409974222"
References  PAGEREF _Toc409974222 \h
29

I. Introduction
1.1. Background of the Study
One main sector identified as the enabler for enhancing prosperity in the African region is the energy sector (IEA, 2014). According to the African Energy outlook 2014, published by the International Energy Agency (2014), the majority of the population have no access to electricity, and are therefore dependent on cooking methods which are dangerous and inefficient, like solid biomass including firewood and charcoal (IEA,2014). Table 1 shows that 57% of the African population does not have access to electricity, and that 67 % depend on traditional biomass for cooking, both of which are higher than the world average respectively.
Table 1.1: International Comparison of Energy Poverty


Source: United Nations (2014)
Though the region is rich in energy resources, which are sufficient to meet the growing requirements of the population, reports show these are largely underdeveloped (IEA, 2014). Compared to other developing countries, the infrastructure deficit in the African region is identified as very large (World Bank, 2010).
A huge divide in the supply of infrastructure among the rural and urban areas is seen in the African region, mainly due to the rapid urbanization happening in the recent years (ADB, 2010). This is shown in Figure 1. Studies demonstrate the need for more investment in the infrastructure in rural areas in the region so that shared growth is ensured, since around 65 percent of the population is in the rural areas (ADB, 2010). At the same time, the infrastructure in the urban areas in Africa is in the bottom level, according to the ranking on an international level (Paulais, 2012). The UN habitat report recommends the need for reviewing the standards of building in the African urban areas for the provision of affordable housing by the private sector in the region (Shah and Batley, 2009).
Figure 1: The Rural Urban Infrastructure Divide in Africa


Source: ADB(2010)
The main barriers identified for the energy poverty reduction in Africa are the development of the large-scale energy resources focused on energy exports to industrialized countries or urban centres; gaps in funding; and the energy access sustainability issue (Omojolaibi, 2014). In spite of the high growth in the energy investment in Africa, reports show that majority of this had been focused at resource development for exports to industrialized countries or urban centres rather than using it locally (IEA, 2014a). Moreover, majority of the people who do not have access to modern energy resources in Africa are reported extremely poor which constrain their affordability to access these resources. Another main barrier is the lack of supply of dependent energy services in a continuous manner after the termination of the energy access program initially developed by the government. In this regard, studies show the need for local capacity creation and domestic resource mobilization as the main strategy to overcome these barriers (Omojolaibi, 2014).

Rwanda is one among the most highly populated countries in the African region, as well as being among the nine most rapidly urbanizing countries (UN Habitat, 2010). Several factors like - the mid-1980s economic crisis, genocide and the war in the 1990s - are identified to have constrained the economic progress in the country for a long period (Rugumamu and Gbla, 2003). However, the recovery of the economy after the conflict created a strong energy demand growth along with acute shortages in supply resulting in many problems in the energy sector (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2014). The main problems include: the very high rise in the demand for unsustainable cooking methods like fuel wood caused by rapid urbanization; a lack of electricity access in rural areas, with the focus of electricity connections being only in the urban area of Kigali; a lack of investment in energy generation by commercial enterprises; and the underutilization of the emerging market for solar energy (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2014). Moreover, the provision of adequate infrastructure, especially housing, sewage, and sanitation, has not kept pace with the rapid urbanization in the country (ADB, 2010a).
One primary solution for reducing the energy poverty and promoting energy efficiency in the African region has been identified by the World Bank Green Growth Report (2012), which is to invest in green buildings. In Rwanda, the green architecture principles are identified as more important compared to other countries, due to the lack of financial and natural resources (Rollins, 2014). Since the majority of the construction materials and the power for electrical production are imported in Rwanda, the industrial and energy costs are very high for Rwa...