Lake Kivu: How the ‘Killer Lake’ is Developing into a Valuable Source of Energy for Rwanda and the Eastern DR Congo

Lake Kivu is Africa’s sixth-largest lake. It is located in the western section of the line of lakes created by the East African Rift, on the border between Rwanda and eastern DR Congo. It covers a total surface area of around 2 700 square kilometres. It is 89 kilometres long and 50 kilometres wide, and has a depth of up to 500 metres.

The lake is situated in a highly volcanic region with a number of active volcanoes. Thousands of years of volcanic activity led to a massive accumulation of carbon dioxide and methane trapped in its depths. The lake holds an estimated 60 billion cubic metres of methane and 300 billion cubic metres of carbon dioxide. Future large-scale volcanic eruptions and land shifts could trigger a deep-water explosion, creating a large poisonous gas cloud that could kill the inhabitants of the surrounding areas.

In the 1980’s, poisonous gas clouds emitted by volcanic activity killed nearly 2 000 people in north-western Cameroon. The disaster occurred in an under-populated rural area, and the death toll was therefore limited. However, some two million people live around Lake Kivu – in an area with one of the highest population densities in the Great Lakes region. A gas eruption at this lake would result in a high and disastrous death toll.

In the mid-1990’s, a few of my entrepreneurial engineering clients were whispering to me that money could be made from Lake Kivu’s gas resource.

It is estimated that Lake Kivu holds enough methane gas to produce 700 MW over a period of some 50 years. If tapped and harnessed, the extracted gas could be used for electricity generation and industrial use such as the production of fertiliser.

The Rwandan authorities took the lead in extracting methane gas from Lake Kivu for industrial purposes. From the early 1960’s, the Bralirwa brewery (situated on the lakeside) fuelled its boilers with methane tapped from the lake. Excess gas from the brewery was also used to fuel vehicles.

The process is unique. Deep level water from the lake is piped to the surface and onto a floating platform. The methane gas is extracted from the water through compressors and a separation process. Another purification process removes carbon dioxide. The gas is then transported through pipelines to onshore generators.

The Rwandan government has approved a number of methane-to-power projects on a 25-year concession, public-private-partnership basis. The Rwanda Development Board is the state entity assisting prospective investors.

The lake’s first industrial-scale, gas-fired power plant was initiated in 2011 by KivuWatt, a subsidiary of ContourGlobal of the UK and USA. The 25 MW first phase of the project was commissioned in 2015. Completion of the second phase will add a further 75 MW.

In 2018, I visited the Kibuye Power or KP1 methane gas-fired power project at the Rwandan lakeside town of Gisenyi. It is being developed by Symbion Power of the USA. The plant was then producing 3,6 MW. The project was developed in 2005, and started producing power in 2008. Symbion took it over with the intention of increasing output to 25 MW over two phases. The company secured a site further up the lake coastline for another methane gas-fired 56 MW power plant. The project was undertaken in partnership with the Rwanda Energy Group. Today, Symbion continues to implement these projects.

Another innovative project is that of a US/Nigerian/Rwandan joint venture, GasMeth Energy. The Rwandan government approved a concession to GasMeth for the extraction of methane gas from Lake Kivu for processing into compressed natural gas as a green, non-fossil bio-gas to replace diesel and gasoline. The compressed gas will be used in the industrial and transport sectors reducing. Rwanda’s need for imported fuels. With bottled gas available, the populace will need less wood for cooking and heating. In 2023, the global energy trading company, BB Energy, announced that it would be investing in the GasMeth venture.

Fifty-eight percent of the area of Lake Kivu is territory of the DR Congo. The Congolese government could generate about 350 MW of power from the lake. However, the country is far behind Rwanda in realising this potential.

Following a national oil and gas auction in 2023, the Congolese government awarded three methane blocks in Lake Kivu to three North American companies. There has been some controversy over the credentials and competence of two of the successful bidders. The process is likely to be slow, with a number of contracts still awaiting signature.

One of the new concession-holders is affiliated to Symbion Power, which has the required gas extraction experience from its operations in the Rwandan section of Lake Kivu.

The waters of Lake Kivu are exceptionally clean and inviting. No dangerous animals such as crocodiles and hippo inhabit the lake. Yet, the lake area’s tourism potential remains largely unexploited.

Rwanda has made some effort to attract tourists. They can be accommodated in hotels and resorts with water sport facilities in and near Gisenyi on the coast of the Rwandan section of the lake. Examples are the upmarket Serena Lake Kivu Hotel and the more moderately-priced Inzonzi Beach Hotel. It is reported that a tourism development is being planned for the islands off Kibuye.

The town of Gisenyi is immediately bordered on the lake by the far larger Congolese city of Goma. The eastern DR Congo is troubled by conflict with militia rebel groups, and the tourism prospects for its lakeside areas are minimal.

Many tourists visit Rwanda to see the gorillas in the nearby Volcanoes National Park. An easy, onward excursion to Gisenyi and Lake Kivu is recommended.