KivuWatt Power Station

The power plant is located in Kibuye, Karongi District, in the Western Province of Rwanda, approximately {{convert|130|km|0}}, by road, west of Kigali, the capital and largest city in the country.{{cite web|url=http://distancecalculator.globefeed.com/Rwanda_Distance_Result.asp?fromplace=Kigali%2C%20Rwanda&toplace=Kibuye%2C%20Western%20Province%2C%20Rwanda%2C&dt1=ChIJl-fYjiWk3BkRyAsdQaU2K_M&dt2=ChIJcTzNrxUp3RkRAQZEMIXy-XI|title=Road Distance Between Kigali And Kibuye With Map|publisher=Globefeed.com |accessdate=17 July 2015|date=17 July 2015}}

KivuWatt project will extract methane from the waters of Lake Kivu and use the gas to generate electricity. The generated power will be purchased by Rwanda Energy Group (REG), the Rwandan electricity utility.

The $200 million project, owned by ContourGlobal and executed in cooperation with Wärtsilä, is expected to add 26MW of generating capacity in its first phase (ongoing now) and eventually scale up to 100MW in the coming years. In a developed country, the current 25MW would provide enough energy for 45,000 people.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wartsila.com/insights/article/killer-lake-s-renewable-potential|title=Killer lake's renewable potential|last=|first=|date=|website=www.wartsila.com|publisher=Twentyfour7.|access-date=2016-11-16}}

Phase 1 of the project, with capacity of 25MW, was expected to start commercial operation in 2012. Phase 2 of the project, with additional capacity of 75 MW, is expected to start construction six months after the commissioning of Phase 1. The project is being developed by KivuWatt Limited, a subsidiary of ContourGlobal, under a concession agreement made with the Government of Rwanda in 2009.{{cite web| url=http://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Environmental-and-Social-Assessments/KivuWatt%20Abbrev%20RAP%20Exec%20Summary%20-%20EN%20final.pdf|date=2012|title=KivuWatt Power Plant Project: Executive Summary of the Abbreviated Resettlement Action Plan|last=Nagarajan S |display-authors=etal | publisher=African Development Bank|accessdate=17 July 2015| format=PDF}} KivuWatt Limited plans to extract some of the estimated 60 billion cubic meters of methane gas trapped under Lake Kivu and convert that gas into electricity, something that has not been done on a large commercial scale before.{{cite web|accessdate=17 July 2015|date=16 April 2015|title=Lake Kivu’s Great Gas Gamble|last=Rosen|publisher=Technologyreview.com| url=http://www.technologyreview.com/photoessay/536656/lake-kivus-great-gas-gamble/|first=Jonathan W.}} Construction concluded in November 2015 and the power station was under testing and calibration from November 2015{{cite web|accessdate=18 May 2016|newspaper=New Times (Rwanda)| url=http://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/article/2015-11-17/194460/ | title=KivuWatt energy finally connected to national grid|date=17 November 2015 |first=Kenneth |last=Agutamba|location=Kigali}} until commissioning in June 2016.

The KivuWatt power plant was inaugurated by Rwanda's president Paul Kagame on 16 May 2016.{{cite web|accessdate=11 February 2017|date=16 May 2016|title=President Kagame inaugurates the KivuWatt power plant|last=Jean|publisher=Umuseke.rw|url=http://umuseke.rw/en/president-kagame-inaugurates-the-kivuwatt-power-plant.html/|first=Nizeyimama.|archive-date=12 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170212120645/http://umuseke.rw/en/president-kagame-inaugurates-the-kivuwatt-power-plant.html/|url-status=dead}}

{{columns-list|colwidth=22em|

• Rwanda Power Stations
• Africa Power Stations
• Rwanda Economy
• Energy in Rwanda
• Karongi District
• Western Rwanda

}}

{{reflist}}

• [https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/business/Rwanda-Lake-Kivu-methane-gas-electricity/-/2560/3276106/-/item/1/-/9mxhw5z/-/index.html Rwanda harnesses lake "demons" to power the economy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815135617/http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/business/Rwanda-Lake-Kivu-methane-gas-electricity/-/2560/3276106/-/item/1/-/9mxhw5z/-/index.html |date=2016-08-15 }}
• [http://endeavor-energy.com/case_studies/kivuwatt-power-project-rwanda/ KivuWatt Power Project, Rwanda] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190915140334/http://endeavor-energy.com/case_studies/kivuwatt-power-project-rwanda/ |date=2019-09-15 }}
• [http://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/article/2015-03-23/187170/ KivuWatt Machinery Worth Rwf700 Million Stuck In Kenya Over Dispute]
• [http://www.technologyreview.com/photoessay/536656/lake-kivus-great-gas-gamble/ Lake Kivu’s Great Gas Gamble]
• [https://www.wartsila.com/insights/article/killer-lake-s-renewable-potential Killer Lake's renewable potential]

Category:2015 establishments in Rwanda

Category:Natural gas-fired power stations in Rwanda