{ The Government of Rwanda, through Rwanda Energy Group (REG) and the Ministry of Infrastructure, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with an American company, Symbion Power, where the latter will extract and produce 50 Megawatts from methane gas in Lake Kivu and transmit it to the national grid.
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The signed agreement serves as a milestone towards the implementation of Rwanda’s vision where the country targets 563 MW by 2017.
Under the MoU, Symbion is required to extract 14 megawatts within the first 15 months and 36 within 36 months. The CEO of Symbion Power, Paul Hinks, revealed that one of the company’s vision is to extract electricity from natural resources and are committed to connecting more Rwandans.
“We want to expand our activities in Rwanda. Extracting electricity from methane gas in Lake Kivu is a great step for Rwandans. We promise to make all that is possible to bring down the cost of electricity for all,” he said.
The Minister of Infrastructure, James Musoni, said that through the public private partnerships, Rwanda will attain its targets of generating 563 Mw.
“The project is vital since it is expected to reduce electricity costs and connect more households and institutions. More public private partnerships will be created to achieve even bigger results and impact,” he said.
The government of Rwanda will sign other similar agreements with investors in 2016 to boost hydro electricity solar energy production.
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