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Geothermal could contribute around 300MW in African Rwanda

By Lake Kivu, Rwanda (source: flickr/ amalthya, creative commons)
Alexander Richter 16 Kas 2010

Geophysicists of the Rwandan Ministry of Infrastructure are estimating a geothermal power potential of up to 300MW in Rwanda, with the current electricity capacity of the country of 69MW in total.

In the volcanic regions of the Virunga Mountains in Rwanda, close to the country’s famed mountain gorillas, “, scientists are working to harness heat inside the earth, as well as methane gas in Lake Kivu 30 miles away, to generate power for Rwanda.”, so an article today in the GlobalPost.

“From surface studies, we believe Rwanda has big potential for the development of geothermal power,” said geophysicist Stephen Onacha, a consultant with the Rwandan Ministry of Infrastructure. “We’re excited, because geothermal has many benefits in terms of operating costs and the environment.”

Rwanda is now starved of power and determined to use green technology to tap the volcanic resources of the Albertine Rift, the western branch of Africa’s Great Rift Valley.

Rwanda’s available electricity capacity is a scant 69 megawatts, a fraction of the power produced by a single coal-fired plant in the United States, according to data from the Ministry of Infrastructure. While Kigali, the capital, is well-lit, Rwanda’s rural areas are left in the dark at sunset. Overall, just 6 percent of Rwandan homes and 10 percent of primary schools are connected to the electricity grid.

This limited supply of power means high costs to consumers and business — a drawback to investors the government hopes to lure into the country. In addition, nearly half of Rwanda’s grid capacity is now generated from diesel fuel — which is dirty and expensive in a landlocked nation.

Based on existing studies, Onacha said Rwanda might eventually generate 300 megawatts of geothermal power, which could significantly reduce the country’s reliance on diesel.

In nearby Kenya, where geothermal energy is well developed, there is even a plant inside Hells Gate National Park, an arrangement Onacha suggests might be replicated in the Virungas park.

“It could be a nice complement to existing tourism,” he said. “People could visit both the plant and the park — as long as you take care that the gorillas don’t play in the hot water.”

Though harnessing geothermal power will take time, mainly because of the high costs of exploration, another large-scale project linked to Rift Valley geology is significantly further in development.

Dissolved at the bottom of Lake Kivu, located between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, are an estimated 14 trillion gallons of methane gas and 60 trillion gallons of carbon dioxide, chemical byproducts of the region’s ongoing volcanic activity.”

The article then continues talking about the potential in utilizing the Methane gas in the region, which is a bit outside the scope here.

For the full article see link below.

Source: GlobalPost