At the Fourways-based works, Johannesburg Water launched its new biogas project which aims to generate electrical power through a combined heat and power process.
Councillor Matshidiso Mfikoe, Member of the Mayoral Committee of Environment, Infrastructure and Services Department said, “The aim of all this is to become as self-sufficient as possible for the electrical power demands of our waste water treatment plants by 2016.”
She said initially, the combined heat and power could provide about 55 percent of the waste water treatment’s electricity needs. All of the electrical power generated at the plant would be used at the works site.
For the project, sludge digestors were refurbished, organic waste materials were added and high power consumption was replaced with lower power consumption equipment. The contaminants would also be removed from the biogas.
The project was spurred on by Eskom’s tariff increases between 2010 and 2012.
Councillor Mfikoe added, “It is estimated that by 2020, the cost of electricity for waste water treatment in Johannesburg will increase from R93 million per annum, as it was in 2010, to about R300 million per annum. This estimated amount excludes the proposed 16 percent tariff increase per annum by Eskom. The tariff increases will thus put enormous financial pressure on water service providers.”
Johannesburg Water’s project engineer, Peter Louw, said these increases would be a financial burden to the Water Services Authority and Water Services Provider and this would affect the treatment of waste water and, in turn, have environmental and health implications.
WEC Projects, Zitholele Consulting, Ertec, Zest Energy, Applied Filter Technology, Renniks Construction and Dresser Rand Guascor were contracted to implement the project, but Johannesburg Water managing director Lungile Dhlamini said in due course the entity would train its staff to run the project.
He said the project was an asset to the city, but it was still in a pilot phase and Johannesburg Water wanted to see results before embarking on further training.
