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HQ Peat-fired Power Plant is located in Mamba sector, Gisagara District (Southern province of Rwanda) alongside Akanyaru River. The HQ peat power plant is also the largest producer of peat to power electricity in the Eastern African region and the second largest in Africa. The biggest peat-to-power plant is in Senegal and produces more than 1,000 megawatts of electricity. The Construction works of this 80MW Peat-Fired Power Plant was launched on 10th May 2017 and supposed to be completed in 36 months. It involves construction and operations of both peat harvesting facilities and power generation facilities. This project is expected to increase 40% of national power capacity and it will bring more energy independence to the Country since it is meant to use 100% of domestic fuel leading to reduction of imports. The first phase of the HQ Power Plant has started producing 40MW in 2021. Upon completion of phase 2, the plant will be able to supply 80 megawatts; 87.5% of which will be connected to the national grid while the remaining percentage, equivalent to 10 megawatts, will be retained for the plant’s daily operations. The key project technical features include: Peat extraction through dry milled peat method (2*40MW Andritz bubbling fluidized bed boilers and Siemens SST 300 turbines). The 80MW Peat-Fired Power Plant was constructed under a Build Operate, Own and Transfer (BOOT) basis with a Power Purchase Agreement and a cost $350million upon completion. HQ Power will operate the plant for 26 years from date of commissioning, sell the electricity generated to the Rwandan electricity utility company and thereafter transfer the plant to the Government of Rwanda. The project is run by HAKAN AS, a Turkish coal company and investor, together with QUANTUM POWER, an international power company and THEMIS, a project development company. The consortium has developed a special purpose vehicle (SPV) company, HQ Power Rwanda. This project counts on the funding from various lenders including Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), FINNFUND, India Exim Bank, PTA Bank, Development Bank of Rwanda (BRD) and the African Export Import Bank. Rwanda plans to reach 100% electrification target by 2024. The rate of access to electricity in Rwanda has increased to 60.9%, including 45% of households connected to the grid and 15.9% using off-grid solutions, mainly solar home systems. Hydro-power is the main contributor at 49%, followed by thermal (26%), methane (14%), peat 7% and 4% solar energy; which is currently new growing source of energy. The project created more than 1,500 jobs in its first phase of construction while 200 others got jobs during operation. These jobs are directly impacting positively the livelihood of the Gisagara District residents and Rwandans in general. HQ Peat Power Plant provides electricity through Mamba station and Rwabusoro station in Nyanza District and Rilima in Bugesera which is fed into the national grid.