The City’s urban waste and energy directorate says it is one step closer to converting the metro’s waste to energy.
Grant Twigg, Mayco member for urban waste, discussed the department’s progress on the Waste to Energy Project after visiting the Coastal Park landfill site on Tuesday.
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The project is a City initiative to generate electricity by combusting landfill gas, which is primarily composed of methane produced when organic matter, such as food scraps, degrades in the landfill’s oxygen-depleted environment.
Perforated wells will be dug into the landfill site to extract and channel gas, which will be used to generate electricity in specially designed engines. Before the petrol engines can be started, a specialised thermal mass flow metre must be installed.
Regulatory procedures must be followed before the engines can be connected to the electricity grid.
However, in order to proceed to the next stage, the City was waiting for critical spare parts for the petrol engines.
The estimated start date for electricity production was in the second half of the year, should no complications arise, the City said.
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‘As we witness the growing impacts of climate change, we must take proactive steps to mitigate its effects.
‘Visiting the Coastal Park landfill and witnessing the progress in converting landfill gas into electricity reaffirms our commitment to sustainable practices,’ said Twigg.
‘By harnessing renewable energy from waste, we not only reduce harmful emissions but also move closer to a greener, more resilient future for Cape Town,’ he said.
‘I am proud that the City is leading by example, taking action to combat climate change head-on.’
When operating at full capacity, the project was expected to generate enough electricity to power landfill operations and equipment, including the new recycling facility that was under construction.
‘Unfortunately, the electricity produced will not be sufficient to offset load shedding on its own.
‘However, it will assist in conjunction with other efforts being made in the Energy Directorate,’ Twigg said.
Energy Mayco member Beverley van Reenen said: ‘The City is initiating new generation assets connected to the distribution grid – embedded generation – and to the Eskom transmission or distribution grids. This is to harness the energy resources in the municipal boundary and neighbouring regions.
‘This includes ground-mounted, rooftop and floating solar and waste-to-energy projects such as this one, and the exploration of gas, wind, biosolids and sludge beneficiation, and small hydropower turbines.’
Meanwhile, while the gas engines were being turned on, the City stated that it was using a flaring system at the well system’s endpoint to destroy landfill gas before it entered the atmosphere.
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Picture: City of Cape Town / Facebook