Johannesburg Landfill Gas to Electricity

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The 19MW Johannesburg Landfill Gas to Electricity would entail the development of landfill gas to electricity generation facility in Johannesburg to generate electricity. This BOO project worth of US$26 million was anticipated, by 2016, to produce 19MW of electricity, enough to power 16,500 medium-sized houses. Financing was provided with US$11 million equity and US$15 million debt. A pilot project being done through the City of Joburg’s infrastructure and services department at the Robinson Deep landfill, southern Joburg, already showed good progress. It was a part of Window 3 of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) by Department of Energy (DoE). The DoE selected six solar photovoltaic, seven wind, two concentrated solar power, one landfill gas and one biomass project as preferred bidders in October 2013 for the third round of its REIPPP and the sponsors for each project were scheduled to simultaneously sign power purchase agreements with state utility Eskom and reach financial close on 30 July. The financial closure was delayed mainly due to the insufficient transmission infrastructure for the generation facilities. On July 22, DoE confirmed that the 17 projects involved in the third round of REIPPP would not reach financial close on 30 July 2014, as planned. Unlike in previous rounds of the REIPPP, where the signing of project documents and financial close happened simultaneously, none of the Window 3 deals was expected to close before January 2015 at the earliest, according to sources working on the transactions. The project company was Ener·G Systems Joburg (PTY) LTD, composed of ENER-G Systems (PTY) LTD (51.675%), CEF (SOE) (PTY) LTD (28.275%), Secure Rock Enterprises (PTY) LTD (17.55%), ENER-G Educational Community Trust (2.5%). Earlier the toxic gases were burnt through a flare, but after this project they would be used to power generators which will feed electricity into the national grid, Eskom. The landfill sites to be used were Robinson Deep, Marie Louise, Ennerdale, Linbro Park and Goudkoppies. The gas would be produced through decomposition, which happens when organic waste is broken down by bacteria naturally present in the waste, and in the soil used to cover the landfill. Organic waste includes food, garden waste, street sweepings, textiles and wood and paper products. As the organic matter decomposes, biogas is produced. If unmanaged, this biogas is emitted into the atmosphere, and the methane content is 21 times more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide. The new system would involve retrieving the methane gas and converting it into electricity. This would be done by installing pipes into various places in the landfill. The gas would be pumped through the pipes into a chimney where it is being combusted into harmless emissions, which is happening at Robinson Deep. The next phase would be installing generators through which the gas would be channelled as fuel for electricity generation. The renewable electricity would be “exported” by connecting the generators to the municipal distribution grid, owned by either Eskom or City Power. Robinson Deep covered about 10 hectares, but the total system will cover 26ha when complete in all five landfill sites. When completed, this would be the biggest landfill gas-to-energy project in South-Africa. http://www.nersa.org.za/Admin/Document/Editor/file/Consultations/Electricity/Presentations/Ener%C2%B7G%20Systems%20(Pty)%20LTD.pdf • Total funds required R291,696,208 • Total Capital cost of the Project R278,212,277 • Project Term 20 years • Maximum Debt funding R 176,000,000 • Equity R 129,704,405