At first glance, this lake looks like a tranquil mirror nestled between volcanic mountains. But beneath this silvery surface lies one of the most unique natural reserves on planet Earth. In the depths of this lake, billions of cubic metres of methane gas and carbon dioxide have accumulated, trapped by centuries of volcanic activity. This geological rarity, unique on planet Earth, which could be a threat, has become a source of energy and hope.
The only lake on planet Earth that is used to produce electricity and obtain gas
This is Lake Kivu in Africa. Rwanda was the first country to turn this danger into an opportunity. With an almost visionary approach, the country began extracting methane from the lake to produce electricity. There, on floating platforms that look like silent ships, engineers pump gas from deep below the surface, purify it, and send it to dry land to fuel power plants that now supply a key part of the national electricity grid. On a continent struggling with energy shortages, this lake has become something of a technical miracle.
The lake shared by Rwanda and the Republic of Congo
Extraction also fulfils a second essential function: it reduces the risk of a limnic eruption, that rare and devastating phenomenon in which trapped gases can be suddenly released, suffocating entire populations. What in other regions of the planet Earth would be an uncontrollable natural threat, here becomes a survival strategy that, at the same time, drives economic development. On the Congolese side, the gas from the lake has also become a strategic resource. Although its exploitation is proceeding with greater caution, projects are being studied to use methane for industrial energy and domestic supply. Both shores, with different histories and different rhythms, nevertheless share the same certainty.