Winds Exploration and Production LLC said its project to produce methane from Lake Kivu in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo can be expanded to a $500m investment and displace diesel generators used by miners. Picture: Bloomberg
The company plans to build a modular plant, ship methane by pipeline and export liquefied carbon dioxide from the 473km² Idjwi block it won last month. Electricity production from methane is part of the DRC’s plan to expand energy access to almost a third of its population by 2030 from about 10%. Lake Kivu contains enough methane — produced in part by microorganisms and dissolved in its deep waters — to generate an estimated 700MW of electricity for more than 50 years.
Winds E&P is planning to build a pipeline south from the block to the city of Bukavu in mineral-rich South Kivu province, where the methane can fuel gas turbines and replace dirtier diesel generators typically used by mining companies in the DRC, Ihekwoaba said.