Contour Eyes Capacity Ramp-up in Rwanda
The well that feeds the KivuWatt power plant in Rwanda has shown potential to produce more than 5.7mn ft³/day of gas, exceeding expectations and encouraging operator Contour to seek approval from the government to increase the capacity of an associated power plant by 7.5 MW.
A spokesperson for Contour, Simon Maine, said the power plant is now running at maximum. “If the company could install additional power generation capacity it could lift around 33% more gas with the existing extraction facility and use it in the power plant. The power plant is the only consumer of the exported gas so that needs to be extended to make use of the extra gas, hence the application for the 7.5-MW near-term extension,” he told NGW August 30.
If the government approves the proposal, said Maine, Contour will invest around $30mn to make the expansion. KivuWatt runs on methane that is trapped under Lake Kivu on Rwanda’s western border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. The lake has potential to supply about three times as much gas that Rwanda has signed concessions for.
The power purchase agreement between the government and KivuWatt allows the company to produce a maximum of 100 MW, of which 25 MW is already operational. Symbion Power, an American firm which is investing in the lake as well, can also produce 100 MW while the Rwanda Energy Company has rights to generate 50 MW.
The country’s installed capacity is 209 MW, with hydro power accounting for 110 MW; methane for 25 MW; and other thermal sources such as peat for 73 MW. According to government figures, Rwanda’s national electrification rate is 41% which leaves more than 7mn without electricity.
Maine said in the medium-term Contour has plans for a second phase of the original development plan under which it would ramp up power output by 67 MW which would take its overall generating capacity to 100 MW. However, like the plan to add 7.5 MW, phase two of the expansion project, that can be brought on line in three years at an estimated cost of $312mn, can only “be implemented whenever there is off-take capacity available for the power.”
Maine added: “Interest has been expressed from parties on the Democratic Republic of Congo side of the lake either for a similar production barge or for an off-take for the electricity generated on the Rwandan facility. The company is exploring these options.”