Waste as an alternative power supply

As the nation grapples with electricity challenges, the City of Johannesburg might have a solution that can help to keep the lights operating on a small scale.

The City’s quest for alternative energy sources is gathering pace, with Pikitup, the city’s waste management company, certain that the five landfills it manages will generate 19MW of electricity by 2016 – enough to power 16 500 homes.

The electricity will be generated from methane gas and carbon dioxide extracted from waste at the landfills – Robinson Deep, Marie Louise, Goudkoppies, Linbro Park and Ennerdale.

The project to convert methane gas to electricity is gaining traction with COJ.

However, Councillor Matshidiso Mfikoe, Member of the Mayoral Committee for Environment, Infrastructure and Service, said this could be extended to 20 years by employing new waste management techniques, some of which are already being used.

Mfikoe added that more than 300 trucks deliver waste to the landfill daily.

Gas emissions and water contamination were monitored every three months to ensure there were no environmental mishaps.

In 2005 the City identified the five landfills as potential sites to implement a landfill gas-to-energy Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project to mitigate the harmful greenhouse gases emitted from the landfills.

The renewable energy generated from the project would be fed into the municipal grid, thus offsetting largely coal derived electricity.

Through its implementation, the City would help South Africa meet its Kyoto Protocol commitments while generating revenue through the sale of Certified Emission Reductions and sale of electricity generated from the project.

Methane gas is already being converted into electricity at Robinson Deep, where 68 gas wells were installed in 2011 and at the Marie Louise landfill, where 28 wells were installed in 2012.

There were positive signs of improvement of air quality at Robinson Deep and Marie Louise sites.

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