LAKE KIVU POWER PLANT COMMISSIONED IN RWANDA

Styled as “one of the world’s most exciting energy supply projects”, the 76MW power plant makes use of 19 MWM TCG 2032B V16 gas gensets which will use the large quantities of methane in the lake to generate energy. This is achieved by bringing the gas-water mixture stored in the lake’s depth to the surface on floating platforms using a patented suction system before transportation to the shore along 17 km of pipelines. The extracted methane is then cleaned and processed onshore in scrubbing towers to improve the gas quality, while the carbon dioxide from the mixture is pumped back into the lake. In Africa Review

Power plant operator Shema Power Lake Kivu (SPLK) has officially commissioned the Lake Kivu power plant project in Rwanda with the help of MWM gas gensets.

A wide shot of the power plant on Lake Kivu. The power plant is expected to meet a large portion of Rwanda’s electricity needs. (Image source: MWM)

Powerful gas gensets

The ingenious method will allow the power plant to feed 56MW of electricity into Rwanda’s grid, with the remaining utilised for its own power need. As a result of this, SPLK is expected to make a significant contribution to stable electricity supply in the country.

“We consciously decided to use MWM gensets for the K56 power plant because of the positive experience during our pilot project,“remarked Alexis Kabuto, CEO of SPLK.”The high-performance gensets exceeded our expectations during operation. The cooperation was professional and goal-oriented throughout the project phase."

The TCG 2032 gensets used for the project are renowned for their high reliability, low operating costs and high efficiency, according to MWM. This makes them ideal for power plant projects up to 100MW and 450 units of the series have now been installed worldwide across the last ten years, generating nearly 1.8GW of electricity.

Pedro Gil Vodermayer, MWM sales director Western Europe & AMEI, added, “We are delighted that SPLK uses our MWM gas gensets in this outstanding project and that the MWM service team is providing continuous support for the power plant. The development of methane gas will provide Rwanda with a reliable source of energy that will power the country for decades to come. The project exemplifies how our gensets provide decentralised and reliable power to customers worldwide."