Jason Gifford, the chairperson of the Southern African Biogas Industry Association (SABIA), states that the association placed the Southern African biogas industry’s direct local and foreign investment value at between R52 billion ($3.38 billion) and R250 billion ($16.26 billion).
This wide variance is due to the difference between what is readily available and what is achievable in the biogas industry over time, explained Gifford during the second DiBiCoo Local Stakeholder Workshop of 2021.
The Digital Global Biogas Cooperation (DiBiCoo) workshop, hosted by Enlit Africa-Connect, saw industry experts explore the potential financing landscape for biogas projects in Africa while providing practical examples of how to go about identifying finance for a biogas project.
Many countries in Africa are facing serious energy deficits. There are frequent power outages and insufficient energy assets in most African countries, especially in rural areas. There is also a high dependency on biomass-based and fossil-based energy generation systems which are harmful to the environment.
Yet every day, people in these countries generate large amounts of waste – from agricultural waste to municipal and food waste to everything in between – all of which have great energy generation potential.
A 2-in-1 technology
“These are resources that could be transformed into clean and affordable energy to help deal with loadshedding and improve accessibility and reliability of electricity supply in the African countries,” said Dr Timothy Afful-Koomson, Chief Climate Finance Officer at the African Development Bank during the keynote session of the DiBiCoo Local Stakeholder Workshop.
Emissions reduction ability of biogas is much higher than other forms of renewable energy
This idea of using biogas to generate energy in Africa, Afful-Koomson says, is one that really should be considered. This is especially since the emissions reduction ability of biogas is much higher than other forms of renewable energy, like solar, as biogas also prevents the production of methane, a greater contributor to global warming than carbon.
“Unfortunately, less than 30% of African countries have biogas as one of the renewable energies systems to meet their NDC [Nationally Determined Contributions] targets,” said Afful-Koomson, emphasising the fact that there is a great opportunity to scale up biogas projects in Africa.
Investigating available finance
The research undertaken by DiBiCoo highlights that ample funding for projects is available. However, all types of financing must first be considered and assessed to see what is suitable for the developing market. Often specific financing models for a developing market are not available.
Therefore, it is important to first assess conditions from normal bank loans to equity funds to project financing as well as national subsidies, European Union funds or international funds. These opportunities for direct financing were all investigated and looked at to assess the best way to identify suitability for this sector.
To hear more on the topic and gain a better understanding of the current financing space within the biogas industry with perspectives from both the industry itself as well as the financing industry, watch the second DiBiCoo Local Stakeholder Workshop of 2021 on-demand. ESI
Next up on the biogas agenda
A capacity-building tour to provide insight and encourage best practices for digestate management and beneficiation within project development and implementation.
The objectives include sharing the following information and skills:
- Understanding the current context and impact of digestate on biogas project development and implementation in South Africa
- Overview of various legislation that governs the management and usage of digestate in South Africa
- Case study of digestate management and beneficiation practices within South Africa
- Case study of digestate management and beneficiation practices within European Union
- Identifying utilisation pathways for digestate management and beneficiation within South Africa
The target audience includes turnkey providers, project owners, municipalities and investors and off-take clients interested in the management and beneficiation of digestate produced by biogas plants. The secondary audience is agricultural stakeholders and regulators keen to gain a better understanding of de-risking the usage of digestate within the agriculture market.
Potential Sites in Gauteng
| Biogas site/plant | Description | Owner & Location | Relevant stakeholder |
| Bronkhorstspruit Biogas Project | Feedstock – Agriculture and agri-processsing residues Primary revenues – Electricity; gate fees Digstate – Used by surrounding farms Plant size – 5MW equivalent Current status – Operational | Developer: Bio2Watt Location: Bronkhorstspruit, Tshwane (Google maps link) | Partner country stakeholders |
| Johannesburg Northern Works Waste Water Treatment Works | Feedstock – Wastewater & sewage Current status –Operating over capacity. Potential for biogas to deal with parasitic energy load | Owner: City of Johannesburg Location: Johannesburg (Google maps link) | European biogas stakeholders; Partner country stakeholders |
| Cavalier Abattoir | Feedstock – Abattoir waste Primary revenues – Combined heat and power Digstate – to surrounding farms Plant size – 135kW & 210kW equivalent Current status – non-operational; undergoing due diligence for recommissioning | Owner: Cavalier Food Group Location: Cullinan (Google maps link) | European biogas stakeholders; Partner country stakeholders |
| Lanseria Biogas Project | DiBiCoo demo case project | Developer: New Auto Energy / Crosspoint Location: Lanseria, Johannesburg (Google maps link) | European biogas stakeholders |
| Tswane Food & Energy Centre Biogas Power | Feedstock – Sweet Sorghum grass silage, Discarded Vegetables & other farm residue Plant size – 100 kVA Current status – Operational | Developer: Botala Energy Location: Bronkhorstspruit, Tshwane (Google maps link) | Partner country stakeholders |
Potential Sites in Western Cape
| Biogas site/plant | Description | Owner & Location | Relevant stakeholder (value-add) |
| New Horizons Energy | Feedstock – Municipal Solid Waste; wet trade organics; urban organics Primary revenues – Biomethane; carbon dioxide; gate fees Digstate – solids to composter; liquid into sewage drain Plant size – 5MW equivalent Current status – non-operational; undergoing due diligence for recommissioning | Owner: Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa Location: Sand Industria (Google maps link) | European biogas stakeholders; Partner country stakeholders |
| Elgin Fruit Juice | Feedstock – Fruit processing waste; agriculture residues from surrounding farms Primary revenues – Combined heat and power; gate fees Digstate – irrigation and usage on surrounding farms Plant size – 550kW equivalent Current status –operational but exploring alternative utilization pathways and revenues | Owner: Elgin Fruit Juice and Zero Waste Technologies Location: Grabouw (Google maps link) | Partner country stakeholders |
| Zandam Cheese and Piggery | Feedstock – Pig manure slurry; abattoir waste Primary revenues – Combined heat and power; waste disposal fee Digstate – liquid fraction into lagoon, solid fraction to surrounding farms Plant size – 75kW equivalent Current status – In the process of redesigning and building with new business model | Owner: Zandam Cheese and Piggery Location: Durbanville (Google maps link) | European biogas stakeholders; Partner country stakeholders |
| Bayside Mall | Feedstock – Wet organic trade waste from mall Primary revenues – Combined heat and power; gate fees Digstate – Initially sent to a composting facility Plant size – 25kW equivalent Current status – Decommissioned | Developer: JG Africa and WEC Projects Location: Table View (Google maps link) | European biogas stakeholders; Partner country stakeholders |