Rwanda Energy Compnay (REC) Liimited
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The origins of methane gas are a result of two simultaneous actions, the reduction in magmatic CO2 by bacteria and fermentation of biogenic sediments. The waters of Lake Kivu manifest a particularly obvious 'stair-like' stratified structure following the variations of their physico-chemical parameters with depth. The methane content increases with the depth below 250m. In 1963, the Belgian Chemical Union set up a gas extraction plant for Lake Kivu at Cap Rubona. The enriched gas was compressed and transported by gas pipeline for about 3 km to the boilers of the Bralirwa brewery.
Diagrams (a) and (b) below show the technical framework and advantages of an old and the latest technology that is on trial to produce 3.6 MW, and this will eventually be replicated to increase installed capacity to 50 MW. |
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Due to a scarcity of traditional petroleum resources, Rwanda faces serious energy problems with the majority of the population relying on wood and agricultural by-products. The current scenario is a threat to Rwanda’s natural environment and the leading cause of deforestation within the country.
The potential for energy development from Lake Kivu has been known since the 1930's. A number of studies have been carried out, by both the Rwandan government as well as Dr Klaus Tietze regarding the potential of Lake Kivu to provide gas as a source of sustainable energy.
The Rwanda Energy Company (REC) is a 99.999 % subsidiary of the RIG. REC has been granted a gas concession agreement to develop a gas fired power plant in Rwanda. This will take advantage of the natural gas concentrated in the deepest water of Lake Kivu. REC has been incorporated to enable attracting energy investors to enable production of power to meet a 50 MW memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with GoR which will be converted into a PPA, once the gas technologies are proven.
REC has signed turnkey contracts with Prof Michel Halbwachs to conduct pilots to validate production of gas fired power plants using their respective technologies. These pilots are intended to give proven evidence that gas production technologies will economically extract methane from the lake to produce cheap power compared to other sources of energy.
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Investments 