- The Cape Town municipality will set up a biogas plant at the Vissershok landfill.
- The facility will convert organic waste into biogas and electricity to power Cape Town.
The city of Cape Town in South Africa is considering using waste to generate energy. The biogas plant construction costing R197 million ($11.5 million) has a capacity of 2 MW, with the possibility of 9MW expansion.
The plant, which will be constructed in 2025 at the site of the Vissershok dump, will have the capacity to power 5,850 households. In addition to providing work for residents, the facility will help lessen the adverse effects of trash on public health and pollution.
Experts claim that methane-rich gas is created as organic waste decomposes in landfills, which has around 25 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide (CO2). The gas will be extracted from the waste using wells before being connected to the recently constructed flare complex and routed to a gas engine to produce energy, according to the Geordin Hill-Lewis-led municipality.
The expected Vissershok power plant, according to the municipal authorities, will lessen Cape Town’s reliance on Eskom. The city of Cape Town and other South African municipalities want to get their supply directly from independent power providers due to the public company’s network faults (IPPs). Currently, 12.7 million tonnes of solid garbage are produced in South Africa annually. Waste-to-energy is evolving into an alternative in this southern African nation, where coal accounts for more than 80% of electricity production.