'Killer Lakes': Africa's Chance at Cheap Power?
Posted by Keith Johnson
When could a new power plant at once be an economic boon, an
environmentalist's dream, and a literal life-saver? When it's built on
one of Africa's "killer lakes."
The L.A. Times today reports on the latest installment in Rwanda's
decades-long battle with methane-filled Lake Kivu. The huge lake,
which borders the Republic of Congo, has massive concentrations of
methane and carbon dioxide at depth, and the gas concentrations are
increasing every year. The United Nations and other experts warn that
sooner or later the lake will explode, as others have before in the
region, killing thousands.
Rwanda's idea is to turn the potentially deadly methane in the lake
into a power source for the electricity-starved nation. That would get
some of the explosive gas out of the lake, and could potentially
double the amount of electricity available in a country that barely
has any, and relies on diesel generators and burning wood for what it
has.
Hoping to avert a catastrophe on the shores of a lake where 2
million people live and to solve its energy woes at the same time, the
Rwandan government is embarking on a risky project to extract the
methane and use it to generate electricity. Methane-power generation
plants exist elsewhere, but the effort here is the first attempt to
extract the gas from underwater and burn it to fuel an electricity
plant. "It's the first of its kind in the world," said Albert Butare,
Rwanda's minister of state for infrastructure. "In the beginning, it
was a myth. But now the technology is promising."
Of course, Rwanda's been toying with small-scale projects to burn the
methane for decades, with little success (though it did briefly power
a brewery). It's been tinkering with larger-scale power plants for
years, too. The latest attempt includes a $200 million outlay by
investment group Contour Global to help build a 20-megawatt power
plant.
Experts who have spent years studying Africa's three "killer lakes,"
concluded in 2006 that "from the point of view of risks, the
environment, and economics, the only viable action is to produce the
methane gas in Lake Kivu and use it for power production." That would
lessen the explosive threat, help local fishermen, protect forests
currently razed for fuel, and bring electricity to a place where only
5% of the population is connected to the grid.
The World Bank figures a methane-fueled power plant could make
economic sense, as wellno small matter for a cash-poor government
that often struggles to buy diesel fuel for its generators. The World
Bank estimated the pilot projects could produce electricity for about
6 or 7 cents per kilowatt hour. That would be competitive even in the
U.S.and a quarter the price of electricity produced by diesel
generators.
Very often, developing countries have to choose between the
environment and electricitywith one predictable loser. Will Lake
Kivu, at least, be an exception?
--
"A little rudeness and disrespect can elevate a meaningless
interaction to a battle of wills and add drama to an otherwise dull
day."
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