Gas Levels in the Deep Waters of Lake Kivo

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Scientists have been pumping methane from lake kivo on a small scale for decades to make use of it for energy. Efforts ramped up seriously when kivo wat, run by london based contour global, began operation in 20 16. The 200 million dollar project is currently providing 26 megawats of electrical power and has a contract to increase that to a hundred wats. Efficiently extracting 90 % of the methane over some 50 years could reduce the likelihood of alimnic eruption by 90%.

Lake Kivu, nestled between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, is a geological anomaly that holds 300 cubic kilometres of dissolved carbon dioxide and 60 cubic kilometres of methane.

The lake has the potential to explosively release these gases, which could fill the surrounding valley, potentially killing millions of people.

Researchers are trying to establish the likelihood of such an event happening, and the best way to safely siphon the gases from the lake.

This is an audio version of our feature: How dangerous is Africa’s explosive Lake Kivu?

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