Economic feasibility analysis of electricity generation from landfill gas in South Africa

In South Africa about 50% of the people who live in the rural areas do not have access to electricity and mostly rely on traditional biomass for daily energy supply. This further poses a threat to the surrounding natural animal habitat and forests and also in turn leads to risks of rain fall shortage and drying of river sources. South Africa is currently looking at the potential of generating energy from biomass using Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) collected from landfill sites in different community areas for supplying power to rural and semi-urban localities. This paper presents an analysis of energy generation potential of landfill sites in Cape Town area in South Africa and economic analysis of landfill gas to energy (LFGTE) systems which might be developed using these landfills.