Rwanda inaugurates first methane power plant

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) - Rwandan President Paul Kagame has inaugurated the country’s first methane power plant in Lake Kivu, southern Rwanda.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony on Monday, Kagame hailed the plant as a “positive step. It is an indication of what is possible in trying to address these [national energy] challenges”.

The Kivu-Watt Gas Power Plant is located in the Western Province’s Karongi District.

In its first operational phase, lasting four years, the plant will produce 25 megawatts (MW) of electricity. This will then rise to 75 MW and eventually 100 MW by 2020, according to a fact sheet on the project provided to Anadolu Agency.

The production will bring the East African country closer to achieving its goal of providing electricity to over 75 percent of the population by 2018. The country is also planning to produce 563 MW of electricity overall by 2018, meaning the new methane plant would supply nearly one-fifth of that total.

The cost of production of 25 MW is estimated at $200 million, according to American energy firm ContourGlobal, which is responsible for operating the project over a 25-year period.

Power consumption in Rwanda relies mainly on hydropower of up to 97.37 MW, thermal power 51.7 MW, and solar energy 8.5 MW, according to Rwandan authorities.