New project to quench Rwanda’s energy hunger.

Poor exploitation of energy resources can be a major hindering factor to economic growth and is a problem that has all too often been associated with African States. This is despite the fact that many have an overabundance of energy resources. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a case in point –the country has the potential of meeting the electricity needs of the whole continent but yet has hardly enough for itself. In the midst of all this we learn that Rwanda is taking a step in the right direction. The tiny country has began to extract methane gas from a volcanic lake it shares with the DRC -Lake Kivu. The Lake holds an estimated 55 billion cubic metres of methane -the equivalent to 40 million tonnes of oil. A consortium is currently eyeing the extraction effort in the hope of setting up a seven-megawatt power plant and three other investors are hot on their heels. Should the process prove successful then it will go a long way in spurring Rwanda on to its economic objectives.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7426154.stm