Rwanda inaugurates ground-breaking methane power project

• 8 years ago (2016-05-17)
• David Flin

North America 1021

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The US energy company Contour Global has inaugurated the first phase of KivuWatt, a $200 million facility that is the first large-scale power plant using methane from the Lake. This is said to be the only industrial-scale plant of its kind in the world. It draws up water from an offshore barge, siphons off the methane, and pipes it to a 26 MW power plant on shore.

Contour Global said that there will be a series of similar ventures, and that it plans to build two or three more barges, increasing capacity up to 100 MW. Another US firm, Symbion Power , has signed an agreement with the Rwandan government to build a 50 MW project.

In addition to providing power, KivuWatt was also conceived to mitigate against a potential catastrophe. Measurements taken in the mid-2000s showed the lake’s methane levels rising at a rate that could cause Kivu’s overall gas concentration to approach saturation. At that point, an earthquake or volcanic eruption could cause release of the gas, with catastrophic consequences for the region. Removing the methane reduces the threat.