BMW South Africa has signed a power purchasing agreement with energy company Bio2Watt, to supply the car manufacturer with renewable energy sources for operations at its Rosslyn production facility, north of Pretoria.

In what is thought to be the first private deal of its kind, the BMW / Bio2Watt initiative will mark the first commercially viable biogas-electricity project in South Africa. When the project comes online in the first quarter of 2015, between 25% and 30% of the plants energy requirement will be generated from renewable sources.

Power for the facility will come from the 4.4 MW installed capacity Bronkhorstspruit Biogas Plant. The biogas plant is located on the premises of one of South Africa’s largest feedlots (Beefcor) which provides the project with key fuel supplies, grid access and sufficient water supplied by Beefcor’s storm water collection dams.

Sean Thomas CEO of Bio2Watt says the project received tremendous support from various stakeholders including BMW South Africa as the electricity off-taker, Eskom and the City of Tshwane as enablers of the grid connection. Tshwane is also a key supplier of organic waste, diverting the bulk of its organic waste away from landfills, to be processed directly in the biogas plant.

Other supporters of the project include the Dutch sustainable development agency, NL Agency for development funding and other private investors, along with Norfund, ChloroPhil representing a private family, Bosch Holdings and the Bertha Foundation as equity providers.

“We were looking for large industries, wishing to make a meaningful and sustainable contribution to progressing waste management and climate change mitigation in Southern Africa,” concludes Thomas. “We’re glad one of the world’s most sustainable car makers, in the form of the BMW Group, heeded this call.”