The business case for biogas from solid waste in the Western Cape

The report examines the biogas industry in the Western Cape, South Africa, which it describes as being in a "nascent or infant state". Through five case studies and two financial scenarios, it concludes that biogas project viability is highly site-specific and depends heavily on economies of scale, high on-site energy requirements, and high waste management costs. The analysis suggests that small-scale commercial installations (<50 kWe) are generally not financially viable, while medium-scale installations (>50 kWe; <1MW) at abattoirs can be viable, particularly when waste disposal costs are high due to legislative changes regarding landfill classifications.

• The South African biogas industry is currently in a "nascent or infant state" characterized by a "low rate of uptake and general inexperience in designing, constructing and operating of biogas facilities".
• Financial viability for biogas projects in South Africa is highly site-specific and is strongest where there are "large volumes of feedstock", "high waste management costs", and "high energy requirements (electric or heat) on-site or in close proximity".
• Waste management costs are identified as a more powerful driver for the adoption of anaerobic digestion than energy savings because of the "relatively low energy costs in South Africa".
• Small-scale commercial biogas facilities with a capacity of less than 50 kWe are deemed not financially viable under current energy and landfill disposal costs; for a 25kW system, an electricity saving of approximately "R2.20/kWh is necessary for financial viability".
• Medium-scale biogas facilities at abattoirs (between 50 kWe and 1MW) can be financially viable, especially at the higher end of that size range, provided there is "full utilisation of energy on-site" and high waste management costs.
• Legislative changes effective 23 August 2016 regarding landfill classification now require non-infectious abattoir waste to be disposed of at "Class B landfills", which may substantially increase waste management costs for abattoirs since most municipalities lack such facilities.
• Common technical and operational challenges across Western Cape projects include "lignocellulosic contaminants" (causing crusting in digesters), "odour", "digestate management", and difficulties with "grid feed-in" due to embedded generation regulations.
• There is a significant lack of "operational skills and capacity within South Africa", which has led to some projects replacing local operators with experienced operators from Germany.
• Investment potential for biogas in the Western Cape is conservatively estimated between "R4 billion" and "R13 billion", with a potential for "320 to 3950 direct jobs".

APA

Gogela, I., Salie, Y., Pine, C., & Basson, L. (2017). The business case for biogas from solid waste in the Western Cape. GreenCape. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GreenCape-Biogas-Business-Case-Final-v12-with-cover2-3.pdf

Chicago

Gogela, Isipho, Yaseen Salie, Cathy Pine, and Lauren Basson. The business case for biogas from solid waste in the Western Cape. GreenCape, 2017. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GreenCape-Biogas-Business-Case-Final-v12-with-cover2-3.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gogela |first1=Isipho |last2=Salie |first2=Yaseen |last3=Pine |first3=Cathy |last4=Basson |first4=Lauren |title=The business case for biogas from solid waste in the Western Cape |publisher=GreenCape |date=29 November 2017 |url=https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GreenCape-Biogas-Business-Case-Final-v12-with-cover2-3.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gogela2017business, author = {Gogela, Isipho and Salie, Yaseen and Pine, Cathy and Basson, Lauren}, title = {{The business case for biogas from solid waste in the Western Cape}}, institution = {GreenCape}, year = {2017}, month = nov, url = {https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GreenCape-Biogas-Business-Case-Final-v12-with-cover2-3.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }