After a two-year delay, Rwanda is set to embark on the drilling of geothermal exploration wells as it seeks to diversify electricity generation in a bid to tackle perennial shortages.

A senior government official says Chinese firm Great Wall Drilling Company will launch the drilling campaign this month on the southern slopes of the Karisimbi volcano, near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The exercise, to be carried out with drilling rigs supplied by China Petroleum Development & Technology Corporation, is expected to cost $27-million, up from the $20-million the project would have cost had it been under- taken two years ago as earlier planned.

Drilling of the three wells failed to kick off in 2011 owing to delays in awarding the contracts.

Other companies involved in the project are Rwandan firm Ergeco, which will rehabilitate the road leading up to the site, and Kenya’s Yashinoya, which will undertake the civil works and supply water to the site.

“Preparations have been completed for the contractor to start drilling three exploration wells to a depth of 3 km,” says Uwera Rutagarama, head of geothermal development at the Energy, Water and Sanitation Authority.

She adds that Rwanda is optimistic the wells contain sufficient geothermal steam to sustain a 10 MW power plant.

Drilling of the three wells will be completed in six months.

“We hope to generate 10 MW from the steam, something that will help meet demand for electricity.”

Investment in the geothermal project follows extensive research on the country’s potential to generate electricity from the resource. Studies by the World Bank and the Kenya Electricity Generating Company, which is helping Rwanda exploit the resource, have established that the East African nation can generate up to 700 MW from geothermal.

According to a World Bank study, Rwanda is located in a prime area of the East African Rift Valley, which is estimated to contain enough geothermal resources to generate 15 000 MW.

Apart from Karisimbi, other areas that have been shown to have geothermal potential are Gisenyi and Kinigi.

Rwanda currently faces a severe energy deficit that has somewhat slowed the expansion of its economy, and government is mobilising funds to implement a $6-billion energy expansion programme over the next six years aimed at generating 1 000 MW.

Although Rwanda is the fastest-growing economy in East Africa, boasting an average growth rate of 7% a year, according to the World Bank, the country’s electricity output currently stands at a paltry 100 MW and only 11% of the population has access to electricity. In 2009, Rwanda’s population was estimated at ten-milllion.

Of the installed generation capacity, hydropower accounts for 59% and thermal generation 40%, while methane gas accounts for the balance. The high dependence on thermal energy has made electricity costs in Rwanda among the highest in the world, at $0.22/kWh, compared with $0.08/kWh to $0.10/kWh in other East African nations.