It is envisaged that Johannesburg may become the first city in South Africa to convert its entire fleet of buses to carbon-free fuel. This follows a pilot project earlier this year with Metrobus that resulted in positive feedback.
“The city subscribes to the notion of the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. It is imperative that we find alternative energy sources that will also meet our objectives of enterprise development and job creation,” stated Mayor Mpho Parks Tau recently. Biogas has been identified as the most likely energy source that can fast track the economic hub of the country in its conversion project. Biogas contains anywhere between 50% and 70% methane. Methane has already been tested and proven to be an ideal fuel source for the future. Mayor Tau says the City has completed a pre-feasibility study on the potential of the Johannesburg Market waste stream to produce bio-methane. The study has found that there is potentially sufficient bio-methane to supply about 700 000 litres of diesel-equivalent fuel a year. He explains that the biogas will be upgraded through a process of cleaning and compression prior to it either used on a production site or injected into the existing compressed natural gas pipeline to be used wherever it is required.
“The city has been piloting alternative gas use in its Metrobus fleet for some time. The results have been positive and we are now exploring the possibility of scaling the project to other municipality-owned entities,” states Mayor Tau.
“The discovery of alternative energy sources will not only serve to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – even though this is one of the primary objectives, but it will also ensure less reliance on imported oil,” he adds.
