The City of Cape Town has launched a new gas-to-energy plant at the Coastal Park Landfill, which will generate enough electricity to power around 4,300 homes. The facility converts landfill gas into energy, helping the metro move closer to its goal of a cleaner and more sustainable electricity supply.

To date, the City has invested R93 million in the project and plans to invest an additional R82 million over the next three years to expand similar facilities at other landfill sites.

Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says the initiative is part of Cape Town’s strategy to diversify its energy sources and reduce costs for residents over time.

 “This is one of the ways in which Cape Town is trying to diversify its supply of electricity and over time bring down the price of electricity for Capetonians. We will continue to invest in these kinds of gas-to-energy projects at all of our landfills across the City.”

To convert landfill gas into electricity, the City has installed perforated pipes or “wells” into landfill sites to extract methane gas, which is then used as fuel to generate electricity, while also reducing harmful methane emissions.

Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Waste Management, Alderman Grant Twigg, explained how the process works.

 “At Coastal Park Landfill, the City’s waste-to-energy project will generate 1.3 million kilowatt-hours per month. Of this, 1.2 million kilowatt-hours will be fed into the Cape Town grid, while the remaining power will be used to run operations at the landfill facility, generating further savings and efficiency for ratepayers.”

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