Gas and fuel prices have been rocketing after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This has had a significant impact globally and has forced countries, including South Africa, to review their energy needs and strategy.
The Southern African Biogas Industry Association estimates that the country’s biogas industry is valued at between R52-billion and R250-billion.
Barriers to entry, lack of finance and government red tape have made it much harder for market entrants to make inroads in the sector.
South African National Energy Development Institute’s Project Manager of Renewable Energy Dr Karen Surridge says, “Biogas is the smelly gas that is produced when you are around landfills or rotting food, it is basically bacteria that is making methane gas you can equate this to the LPG gas used in cooking heating and lighting.”
Experts say lower to middle-income countries have the potential to generate biogas from large amounts of waste.
BIOGAS | SA reviews energy needs amid soaring gas, fuel prices
Agricultural waste to municipal and food waste can be transformed into clean and affordable energy,
especially in countries that struggle with providing sustainable and reliable electricity supply.
The National Energy Development Institute is piloting two biogas projects in Limpopo.
“Sanedi has put down two biogas digesters in two military bases in the Limpopo province essentially these are called piolet plants and differ in magnitude for Sacel so we can prove that it works for small kitchens and large kitchens. These are the first two we hope they grow now that we have seen that it solves two problems. Firstly it gets rid of organic waste in kitchens and the by-product for energy so we can use when we cook meals in the kitchen, it’s also used as a fertilizer which you can use to grow your food garden,” Surridge explains.
Experts however have warned that less than 30% of African countries consider biogas as one of the renewable energy options, especially since it produces fewer emissions than solar.
Parliament hears impact of increasing fuel prices on the economy
