Rwanda News Agency/Agence Rwandaise d'Information (Kigali)
29 August 2008
Nairobi — Government has angrily dismissed comments by a South African expert that a significant challenge preventing the development of the envisaged Lake Kivu gas-fired power generation project is a lack of capital, RNA can exclusively reveal.
Chemical engineer and senior executive with Methane Hydrates Mr. Philip Morkel is reported to have told a NEPAD/SADC infrastructure projects conference, held in Johannesburg earlier this month, that investors and banks considered Rwanda a risk because of its history.
But Rwanda Energy Minister Engineer Albert Butare said Friday that the comments are "absolute rubbish" because the plans to have electricity from the methane gas 'are in advanced stages'.
"That man has a personal grudge because he came here but failed to convince anybody that he was a serious partner and failed to have any stake here", he told RNA on phone from the western province where said he was actually engaged with the methane projects.
Minister Butare added: "The problem has never been money because we are not depending on any donors. You can even ask Rujugiro, he will tell you that they are very far with the project."
Mr. Tribert Rujugiro is a chairman of a consortium of local investors that have put their resources together for a major stake in methane gas.
Minister Butare said Mr. Philip Morkel's comments are 'completely misplaced' because a 5 megawatt pilot plant from the gas is to be launched, and that talks are underway with American investors to put up a 100 mw project.
However, Mr. Morkel admitted to his audience that technological solution had been established, revealing that the project would be entering the procurement and construction phase in the next six months, reports the Engineering News, an online tech-news site.
He added that feasibility studies and engineering had been completed for the development of new technologies for the extraction of gas from the vast lake.
The DRC and Rwanda stand to benefit equally from the project, but it was discovered 18 months ago that, while Lake Kivu was a significant resource, it was not well defined and that there were unresolved concerns about the lake and the safety of people living in surrounding areas, the agency said.
Lake Kivu is bounded by two active volcanoes, and is situated in a tectonic zone that is semistable. Over the last 10 000 years, it has developed gas resources from within, and now contains about two-trillion cubic feet of methane gas, and 10-billion feet of carbon dioxide, besides other gases.
If these gases were to be released into the atmosphere once they reached saturation point, the lake would instantaneously produce about 40% of the world's annual power generation-sourced carbon dioxide in one day. It could also produce a 300-m- to 500-m-thick blanket of cloud cover over the Rift Valley, and create tsunami-like conditions. It has been established that the gases in the lake have reached a saturation point of 60%.
The report, released in June this year, indicated that a very specific method could be used to recover gas from the lake safely and cost effectively. This would produce good-quality gas, containing 80% to 90% methane, for use in several industries.
Morkel explained that, over the next 50 years, gas can be continuously extracted from lake Kivu at a rate of 1 300 MW of gas energy, which can produce 400 MW to 800 MW of power. If the correct methods were used to source the gas from the lake, the project could sustainably produce about 300 MW of gas energy for the next millen- nium.
"But there is a bigger picture, and it is that methane can be used to establish a gas-to-liquids industry and produce liquid fuels and pipeline gas. There are many benefits to be derived from this resource."
Gas-to-power plants developed using the technological innovation developed by Morkel can produce power at a cost of US7c/kWh. The cost of such power to government, compared with oil-fired power, will be reduced by 80%.
"This is significant in Rwanda, which has a gross domestic product per capita of less that $250 a year, and where currently only 6% of the population is connected to power. Now we have an opportunity to generate power that is 80% cheaper, and to also develop enough power to support neighbouring countries," he said.
Other countries that stand to benefit from this resource include the DRC, Burundi, Tanzania and Uganda, where power can be routed at a cost of US10c/kWh to US12c/kWh.
Another project in the pipeline is the Rusumo Falls hydropower project, on the Tanzania-Rwanda border. This project will generate about 62 MW of power; however, a lack of finance is also hindering the progress of the project.
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