KivuWatt is a 26 MW gas power plant in Western Province, Rwanda. It is operated by KivuWatt Limited (ContourGlobal). Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 29k homes (estimated). It ranks #5 of 12 Rwanda power plants by installed capacity. In context, gas supplies about 26.5% of Rwanda's electricity; the national grid averages 354 gCO₂/kWh (49.6% low-carbon) (2024).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1061167.
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
The capacity and fuel fields on this page are source-record values from the upstream open dataset. They are useful for identification and ranking, but they have not been upgraded to a 2026 registry/GEM-location verified value.
capacity: WRI Global Power Plant Database source-record (legacy); fuel: WRI source-record fuel
Technically it is described as Engine. Its current lifecycle status is “announced” — so it is not yet, or no longer, generating at full output. Gas plants burn natural gas either in open-cycle turbines for fast peaking, or in combined-cycle units that recover exhaust heat in an HRSG to reach roughly 55–62% efficiency — the cleanest-burning fossil option.
Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.
Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Operated by KivuWatt Limited (ContourGlobal).
This gas plant burns natural gas in a turbine — often in a combined-cycle setup — to generate electricity. It sits in a subtropical highland climate (Köppen Cwb) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 2.1°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.
Monthly mean temperature
Heating degree-days here run 99% below the median power plant in this dataset — a proxy for how much extra energy heated equipment must replace through its surfaces in winter.
Climate heat-demand index: 13/100 — this site sits in the bottom third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.
A gas turbine here also runs ~2% below its ISO (15°C) rating at this annual mean (typical CCGT curve, estimate).
Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.
For a plant’s outdoor hardware — heat-recovery steam generators (HRSG), expansion joints, valves, flanges and their insulation — the local climate sets how fast unprotected steel and coatings degrade. This site sits in a mild atmospheric environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C2 — Low), with heat / UV the leading environmental stress.
Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.
Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.
The #2 largest gas power plant of 2 in Rwanda by capacity.
Rwanda has 2 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 82 MW of capacity.
Coordinates -2.068, 29.32 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
KivuWatt is a 26 MW source-record gas power plant in Western Province, Rwanda, planned/announced for 2016.
Its output is enough to supply roughly 29,283 homes (estimated).
KivuWatt is operated by KivuWatt Limited (ContourGlobal).
