Swiss want to turn trash into electricity

Klerksdorp Record, Klerksdorp - A Swiss company is investing in the Dr KK District and hundreds of jobs will be created.

The DR Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality alongside its sister local municipalities (City of Matlosana, JB Marks and Maquassi Hills), including the neighbouring District Municipality (Fezile Dabi) in the Free State, will this week commit to play a significant role towards efficient electricity generation within the region. 

All this should unfold on Thursday September 12 as Hitachi Zosen Inova, a Zurich-based global integrated clean technology company developing circular economy solutions for waste management, will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the district to construct a Waste to Energy plant in the region.

The launch is expected to take place at the City of Matlosana Landfill Site. The proposed plant is envisaged to have a 53 megawatt electricity output from the 500 000 tonne per year waste conversion which will be sourced from regional dumping sites across the district. It will also assist local municipalities in the management of waste from unaccredited and non-compliant dumping sites that have been flagged as societal hazards in communities, moreover those categorised as informal settlements.

According to Hitachi Zosen Inova, the plant will be the first of its kind in Africa, following in the steps of Asia, Europe, Australia and Latin America. Through applicable processes that among others include tendering, permitting and financing, the construction is estimated to take about 3-5 years, creating 850 jobs whilst securing about 200 permanent others after completion. 

With its base in Zurich, Switzerland, Hitachi prides itself in the conversion of solid and organic waste streams to valuable end commodities that include electricity, heat, renewable hydrogen & methane, metals as well as salts. The company has more than 85 years’ experience in the field, with 2 700+ employees and more than 850 reference projects worldwide.