Clarke Energy to install GE gas engines at methane-to-power projects in Rwanda

Symbion Power has named Clarke Energy as the preferred bidder for two power plants in Rwanda which will generate power from dissolved biogas found in Lake Kivu. Clarke Energy will deliver 25 of GE’s J620 3 MW Jenbacher gas to the Kivu 56 and KP1 power plants.

The Kivu 56 project is planned to export 56 MW of power into the Rwandan grid under a 25-year concession. KP1 originated as an earlier pilot project, and Symbion has acquired the plant and will upgrade it from 3.6 MW to 25 MW, which will be delivered to the Rwandan grid system under a separate 25-year concession.

Lake Kivu, one of the African Great Lakes, is at its base saturated with biogas - a combination of methane and carbon dioxide gases. This gas is produced by way of the unique combination of the lake's 500m depth, heat originating from magma under the rift valley and microbes breaking down organic material that falls from higher in the lake. The surface of the lake is 1,460m above sea level.

Unlike normal biogas, which is produced in anaerobic digesters from biodegradable waste, the biogas at the base of Lake Kivu contains only 20% methane. This level is lower than that required for a Jenbacher gas engine. The plan is to strip the carbon dioxide — which forms the balance of the volume of the gas — from the biogas using water. The electricity generated by the two power stations will be delivered directly to Rwanda’s electricity distribution network.