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Rwanda Energy Group says the Gishoma peat plant is producing power in a testing phase before commercial operation. Chief executive Jean-Bosco Mugiraneza told a news conference on 29 June the plant, whose main offtaker is the Cimerwa cement plant at Bugarama, was generating 10.85MW.

German electricity storage system manufacturer Tesvolt announced on 14 June that it has signed a contract to provide what it describes as the largest decentralised off-grid storage system in the world. The 3.3MW solar photovoltaic and 2.8MWh storage system comprising 134 lithium battery packs has been designed to allow part of the national grid serving 44 water pumps to operate as an isolated mini-grid in the event of a blackout. Tesvolt director of engineering Simon Schandert said in a news release that Rwanda’s power system tends to fail three or four times a day for between five and 45 minutes.

Rwanda has passed the Upstream Petroleum Law, based on the Upstream Policy approved by cabinet in July 2013. According to the law, published in the Official Gazette on 23 May in English, French and Kinyarwanda, rights of ownership and control of petroleum are vested in the state. An official at the Ministry of Natural Resources told African Energy a licensing map delineating exploration blocks was close to completion.

President Paul Kagame on 16 May officially inaugurated the KivuWatt methane-to-power plant at Kibuye. The plant has been operating since December, supplying 25MW to the grid from three Wärtsilä 34SG engines running on methane gas extracted from Lake Kivu. ContourGlobal said the technology was working better than expected and it aimed to be producing 34MW by year-end. “Our design and technology are performing even better than expected and we are pleased to announce today that the gas extraction facility will support at least an additional 9MW of power generation.

Rwanda’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning on 18 May announced that it had signed a bilateral agreement with the German government for German development bank KfW to provide a €15m grant for the 147MW Ruzizi III hydropower project. The $650m project is being developed by the Agha Khan’s Industrial Promotion Services and US developer Sithe Global, under a contract awarded in 2014, and will supply Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda with 49MW each.

Rwanda’s Commercial High Court has placed the Kibuye Power 1 (KP1) plant in Gisenyi into liquidation over unpaid debts, and the liquidators are inviting expressions of interest from potential buyers for the gas extraction platform and other assets. KP1 was designed as a 5MW pilot project to demonstrate the viability of methane-to-power schemes (AE 246/11). Developer Dane Associates is involved in a long-running legal battle with the government which has now been referred to international arbitration.

Rwandan renewable energy company Ngali Energy has started preliminary construction work on the 2MW Ntaruka hydropower project in the Nyaruguru district of Southern Province. The run-of-river project, which will cost an estimated $11m, is expected to be completed by 2018, according to managing director Leonard Gasana. “This project will help stabilise the grid in this part of the Southern Province and increase generation capacity of the country as Rwanda continues to strive to reach generation capacity of 563MW by 2018,” Gasana was quoted as saying in a 1 March report in the local New Times.

The African Development Bank (AfDB)-administered Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa has approved an $840,000 grant to support the introduction of renewable energy mini-grids. The project will be implemented by state utility Rwanda Energy Group and includes feasibility studies for 20 small hydropower sites along with a plan to encourage local private sector developers. “Given the low 5% rural access rate to electricity in Rwanda, combined with gradual population growth and significant untapped renewable energy potential, green mini-grids can provide robust and cost-effective energy access solutions,” said AfDB manager for environment and climate change Kurt Lonsway.

Rwanda’s style of governance was a positive factor in developing Gigawatt Global’s solar PV project. Developer Chaim Motzen told the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa’s annual conference in November that, “from the time we started negotiations [February 2013] to full production there were three ministers of infrastructure, two [ministers of state for] energy, three Rwanda Development Board heads and three heads of the utility”. Whereas in most countries such frequent churn in key institutions would be seen as a sign of instability, he claimed that in Rwanda it pointed to President Paul Kagame’s rigorous demands for maximum performance.

As President Paul Kagame seeks a controversial third term, citing his record of developing Rwanda, his government can point to considerable success in installing new generation capacity. This is essential to accelerate energy access, which has risen from 6% in 2008 to 24% in 2015. The target is to reach 70% access in 2018, infrastructure minister James Musoni said during a visit to London in December. On 8 December, US-based Symbion Power announced it had signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Rwanda Energy Group (REG) to develop a 50MW methane gas plant on Lake Kivu.

Symbion Power Lake Kivu Ltd on 8 December signed a 25-year power purchase agreement with state utility Rwanda Energy Group for a 50MW methane gas-to-power project on Lake Kivu. A detailed feasibility study and front-end engineering design have been completed for the project, which will now proceed to detailed design, procurement and permiting.The agreement comes as the KivuWatt project, developed by the US’ ContourGlobal, has begun tests for commissioning of its first 25MW after being connected to the grid.

Rwanda and Uganda are the first East African countries to become members of the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), which aims to bring together governments and private stakeholders to mobilise funds for infrastructure projects. Rwanda, which signed the AFC’s instrument of accession and acceptance of membership on 4 November, and Uganda, which signed on 6 November, bring the total members to 13. AFC’s other members are Cape Verde, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

Infrastructure minister James Musoni has said he expects installed generation capacity to rise by 70MW to about 230MW by year-end. The increase will comprise 30MW imported from Kenya, an initial 25MW from the KivuWatt methane scheme, and 15MW from the Gishoma peat power plant. Kenyan imports are expected to start this month. The peat plant, being built by China’s Shengli Energy Group, will supply 10MW to the Cimerwa cement company and 5MW to the grid. Generation capacity is presently 161.4MW, made up of 97.4MW of hydro, 51.7MW of thermal power, 3.6MW of methane and 8.75 MW of solar.

US developer ContourGlobal is hoping for first gas by the end of the month at the trailblazing KivuWatt methane gas power project on Lake Kivu. The facility aims to produce up to 100MW from four units extracting methane dissolved in the deep water of Lake Kivu, reducing the risk of a potentially catastrophic release of the gas (AE 296/1). The barge-mounted gas-collecting unit for the first 25MW phase has been moored in position on the lake, and riser pipes are being connected to the separators. The pipes and separator will then be lowered under the barge and begin extracting gas, which will initially be flared until all the equipment is commissioned and gas can be piped to the onshore power plant at Kibuye.

Rwanda Energy Group subsidiary Electricity Utility Corporation Limited (EUCL) is seeking expressions of interest from consultants for the Rwanda Electricity Sector Strengthening Project. The contract will be funded from $80m of World Bank financing, and will involve supporting EUCL in the management and operations of the electricity business. This will include identification and implementation of measures to improve the operational efficiency and commercial performance; institutional development including coaching and mentoring of EUCL staff; building capacity and developing information systems; preparation and implementation of business procedural manuals