On Friday, Cape Town took the first steps towards using a foul-smelling eyesore to create clean energy. Xanthea Limberg‚ the MMC for water‚ waste and energy‚ launched a gas extraction and flaring facility at Coastal Park landfill in Muizenberg, which will destroy methane produced by the landfill by burning it at 1‚000°C. In as little as 18 months the plant is expected to add a methane-powered generator that will produce 1MW of power — enough to run the waste-water treatment facility in nearby Pelican Park. According to project manager Alberto Borello‚ from Fountain Green Energy‚ landfills are responsible for 4% of SA’s greenhouse gas emissions‚ mostly in the form of methane. More than half the gas produced by rotting waste at Coastal Park is methane‚ while 40% is carbon dioxide. The new project consists of 49 wells‚ each with a perforated pipe sunk about 20m into the garbage to withdraw the gases. In the lifetime of the operation‚ Borello said 525‚000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissi...
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