In a meeting held at Lemigo hotel, attracting different energy stakeholders, Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has pledged support to Rwanda’s efforts to obtain geothermal energy.
Without giving details, the resident representative, Hiroyuki Kobayashi said that they have brought five experts in geothermal exploration and will provide technical support whenever the need arises.
The financial lending arm of Japanese government has widely embarked on supporting geothermal energy explorations globally including Africa.
Last week, JICA signed memorandum of understanding to finance feasibility studies for two geothermal projects in Costa Rica, Pailas II and Borinquen in Guanacaste province.
Since reopening its office in 2005, JICA Rwanda has implemented more than twenty projects on the ground, including those supported by Japanese volunteers through Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) – JICA’s volunteer program.
Currently, approximately nine activities are ongoing in the three priority areas of Human Resource Development, Rural Development and Economic Infrastructure and Industrial Development.
In August the agency launched a USD 18 million project to supply water to communities in Ngoma and Kirehe districts covering five sectors with a population of 31,000, while in Ngoma district, two sectors with 28,000 people benefiting from the project.
Early this year, the government announced plans to spend US $935 million on the development of 310 megawatts of electricity from geothermal sources in the next seven years.
Geothermal energy is produced by tapping the steam created by water trapped near hot rocks in the earth.
In the statement from former energy and water minister, the geothermal sources have been identified between Gisenyi and Karisimbi Volcano and Bugarama.
Rwanda had an installed capacity of only 69 MW in 2009, but plans to increase to 130 MW by the end of 2012 through investments in small hydropower and methane gas plants.
State Minister for Energy and Water, Emma Francoise Isumbingabo said the exploration of geothermal energy is set to commence at the slopes of Mt. Karisimbi.
Isumbingabo said feasibility studies have been conducted and before end of this month findings will be compiled to enable the beginning of the drilling three planned wells at Karisimbi.
She added that the exercise is expected to be completed in two months.
The minister said that surveys conducted by various firms since 1983, including Kenya Electricity Company (KenGen), in 2009, indicated that the geothermal resource area at Karisimbi was enormous.
Other sites identified are Gisenyi, Kinigi and Bugarama.
According to the national electricity master plan, geothermal energy is expected to contribute at least 300 MW to the national grid by 2017, and potentially provide half of the country’s energy requirements by 2020.
Rwanda is also looking at developing hydropower, methane gas, solar, biogas, peat, with an ultimate goal to reach 1,000 MW of production capacity by 2017.
Experts estimate the geothermal potential along the East African Rift Valley in excess of 15,000 MW, but the huge potential has remained largely untapped except in Kenya and Ethiopia.
ENDS
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