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Rwanda to see geothermal drilling at Karisimbi in December 2012

Rwanda to see geothermal drilling at Karisimbi in December 2012 Karisimbi, Rwanda (source: flickr/ uvioc, creative commons)
Alexander Richter 13 Aug 2012

Rwanda announces that drilling for geothermal development will start at the Karisimbi volcano in the country in December 2012, with a drilling company already chosen.

East African Rwanda will see drilling for geothermal power by December this year. The drilling will be taking place in the northwestern part of the country, as reported by the Ministry of Infrastructure.

A drilling firm has already been chosen. There have been three potential sites chose on the southern slopes of the Karisimbi volcano, and resources are expected at a depth of 2,000-3,000 meters.

There have already been some drilling activities in Karisimbi, but major drillling won´t start until December 2012.

Kenya Electricity Generation Company (KenGen), contracted by Rwanda to do surface exploration, has estimated the country’s geothermal power generation potential at 700 MW.

The initial work done by KenGen identifies three potential spots for development, Karisimbi, Gisenyi and Kinigi.

Source: The New Times Rwanda