Durban's biomass energy project
Craig Bishop
25 November 2003
The Ethekwini (Greater Durban) Municipality is considering using gas from three of its landfill sites to generate electricity for the city.
The project, which seeks to harness biomass energy in order to reduce harmful emissions into the atmosphere, is in line with South Africa's ratification of the Kyoto Protocol and its support of the implementation of a Clean Development Mechanism.
The project is expected to generate up to 10 Megawatts of electricity, or enough fuel to illuminate 9 000 homes, from the three landfill sites at Bisasar Road, Mariannhill and La Mercy.
Electricity generated by the landfill sites could be injected directly into the municipality's power grid and help cut back on the amount of coal burnt at power stations that serve the city.
As much as 80 000 tons of coal could be saved per year, which would otherwise have been burnt and added to the greenhouse gases that already clog the atmosphere.
The project
was initiated during the World Summit on Sustainable Development last year when the Prototype Carbon Fund, a funding organisation established by the World Bank, approached the municipality with the idea.
The municipality has appointed Felehetsa Environmental to undertake an environmental impact assessment for the project.
Source: BuaNews
| 
