About the Landfill to Gas Project

Project Summary

Type:  Landfill

Size:  10MV of electricity fuelled by methane rich landfill gas from three landfill sites.

Ownership:  eThekwini municipality, Durban.  Developed by the Department of Cleansing and Solid Waste (DSW) of eThekwini municipality.

Background

The Durban municipality plans to generate electricity from rubbish, at the same time reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The project will capture methane rich landfill gas from three landfill sites to provide fuel for the production of 10MV of electricity.  The gas is captured by sinking wells up to 40m deep in the landfill waste sites and through interconnecting pipes linked to an underground main gas collector and extracted via a roots blower system which maintains a partial vacuum in the pipes resulting in the gas being sucked out of the landfill.

Presently a small protion of the gas is flared or burnt off whilst most of the gas is vented to the atmosphere as harmful green house gas, thus contributing to global warming.

Plant description

This project comprises two complementary components as follows:

• Extraction, collection and flaring of methane from three landfill sites and;
• Generation and supply of electricity to the municipal grid.

The three sites are:

• La Mercy located 35km north of Durban.
• Bisasar Road some 7km from the Durban Central Business District and;
• Mariannhill located in the western area of the Durban Unicity around 20km to the west of Durban in the Metro area formerly called the Inner West City Council.

Moderate speed (1 500rpm) spark ignition engine generators will be installed at the three sites to generate electricity for despatch into the local grid network.

Financial aspects

Income will come from two sources.  Firstly by selling electricity generated from methane under a long-term power purchase agreement to Durban municipality;  and secondly by selling its reduction in CO2 emissions under a Emissions Reduction Purchase Agreement with the World Band administered Prototype Carbon Fund as certified Emission Reductions.

Project Progress

• Technical, environmental and feasibility assessments completed.
• Agreements and Environmental Impact Assessments completed for all three sites.
• Application for 'host country' approval by the Designated National Authority is proceeding.
• Prototype Carbon Fund approval given;  Emission Reduction Purchases Agreements signed.
• Electricity sale agreement agreed by council's Executive Committee as it is an internal transaction.
• Construciton to proceed as soon as the DNA's letter of approval is obtained.

Stages in Process

• Conceptual
• Feasibility
• Planning
• Financial closure
• Construction
• Operational