Gisagara Thermal Power Station is an ,

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficient ...

-fired thermal power plant, under construction in

Gisagara District Gisagara is a district (''akarere'') in Southern Province, Rwanda. Its headquarters is Ndora. Geography The district lies just to the East of Butare city, along the border with Burundi. Where of gisagara district office building ,sector, ...

, in the Southern Province of Rwanda.

Location

The power station is located in ''Akanyaru Village'', Gisagara District, Southern Province, approximately , by road, southwest of the city of Kigali, the capital and largest city in Rwanda.

Overview

A study by Ekono Inc., an American company, found that Rwanda has dry peat reserves estimated at 155 million tons, spread over . Hakan Mining and Generation Industry & Trade Inc., a Turkish Independent Power Producer, won the rights to build an 80 MW peat power plant in Gisagara District, Southern Rwanda. In 2016, Hakan signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the

government of Rwanda The politics of Rwanda reflect Belgian and German civil law systems and customary law takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential republic, whereby the President of Rwanda is the head of state with significant executive power, with the Pr ...

to design, finance, build, own and operate the plant using peat extracted from Akanyaru in Gisagara District. Rwanda would in turn buy the power generated and integrate it into the national electricity grid. The Gisagara Peat Power Plant will complement the Gishoma Thermal Power Station, which came online in 2017.

Budget and timetable

Hakan will finance the estimated US$400 million (Rwf300 billion) project. Construction began in 2017 and completion was expected in 2020. Other credible sources have put the construction budget at US$350 million. In August 2020, Rwandan print media reported that overall progress of development of the power station was estimated at 96.7 percent, with completion anticipated in April 2021. In January 2021 ''Taarifa Rwanda'', an online publication, indicated that the power station was expected to come online in February 2021. The cost of the development is reported as US$350 million.

Developers

The power station was developed and is currently owned by a consortium comprising (a) Hakan AS, a Turkish solid fuel company (coal, peat etc.) (b) Quantum Power, an International power company and (c) Themis, a project development company. The consortium has developed a special purpose vehicle (SPV) company, HQ Power Rwanda. The owner developers have signed a

power purchase agreement A power purchase agreement (PPA), or electricity power agreement, is a contract between two parties, one which generates electricity (the seller) and one which is looking to purchase electricity (the buyer). The PPA defines all of the commercial te ...

to construct, operate, maintain and own the power station for 26 years from date of commissioning and to sell the electricity generated to the Rwandan electricity utility company. Ownership of the power plant will then revert to the

Government of Rwanda The politics of Rwanda reflect Belgian and German civil law systems and customary law takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential republic, whereby the President of Rwanda is the head of state with significant executive power, with the Pr ...

Funding

, the funding for this project included the following:

References

External links

Rwanda in power diversification bid

Rwanda gets first peat-fired power plant in Africa
As at 18 April 2017.
List of Stakeholders In Gisagara Thermal Power Station
As of 21 January 2021. {{Authority control Peat-fired power stations in Rwanda Southern Province, Rwanda