The provincial capital of Gauteng is on its way to become the first city in South Africa to switch its vehicles to carbon-free fuel. Biogas has already been identified by the local administration as the most likely energy source that will fast track the economic hub of the country into the future. It contains between 50% and 70% methane, which is the component that aids the City’s drive to switch to a carbon-free energy source. Methane has already been tested and proven to be an ideal fuel source for the future.
In fact, Johannesburg authorities began testing the conversion in Metrobus buses at the beginning of this year. “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,” Mayor Mpho Parks Tau said.
He urged industry players to move with speed towards changing to alternative energy sources that can help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. “The time for talking is over. We must now move towards the implementation stage. 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 added.
Carel Snyman, the Executive Director of Sanedi, a company at the forefront of the production of biogas, said it was imperative that the country find alternative sources of energy due to the current high cost of oil. The use of biogas as an alternative source of energy is probably the most attractive of all other available sources because of the conversion of waste, which would normally be discarded or converted to methane anyway, contributing to global warming.
In this positive and promising scenario, NGV2014 South Africa Conference & Exhibition on November 17-20 will take place at Sandton Convention Center, precisely in Johannesburg. For further information on the event, please visit its official website.
Source: City of Johannesburg.
