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Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia and a city with a population of over four million, just like many other big cities in Africa, is plagued with wastes while experiencing rapid urbanization. In order to improve the ecological environment, the Ethiopian government has built on the suburbs of Addis Ababa the Reppie Waste-to-Energy Plant, the first waste-to-energy incineration plant in Africa. Undertaken by a Chinese company, the project adopts a full set of Chinese standards and equipments and has introduced China’s mature technologies and successful experience in environmental protection into Africa.

 

The plant is scheduled to operate in September this year. It is an important step taken by the Ethiopian government to promote the use of green energy and low-carbon development. Meanwhile, as the first waste-to-energy plant in Africa, the project has demonstration effects in Africa and has provided a new thought for urbanization in Africa.  

 

Mode——Recycling of wastes collected by the environmental sanitation system on a daily basis

 

Urban household waste has become increasingly a social problem since it pollutes the environment. “Koshe” is a large-scale landfill site located on the southwest outskirts of Addis Ababa. In local Amharic language, “Koshe” means dust heap. Over the past 50 years, most household wastes of Addis Ababa were dumped here, creating a towering heap of wastes.  

Koshe is the largest waste landfill in Ethiopia. Many residents live here, and the alleys are scattered with all kinds of glass bottles and jute bags gathered by hundreds of junkmen. The whole area stinks and the environment here is very poor. 

 

For a long time, the wastes were treated by means of backfilling in Addis Ababa, thus occupying lots of lands, polluting underground water and the surroundings, harming the ecological environment and failing to utilize the resources comprehensively. At present, it is urgent to solve the problem of wastes of the city since the existing landfills here operate under full loads. 

 

The Ethiopian government has realized the severity of the problem and decided to invest USD100,000,000 in building the Reppie Wast-to-Energy Plant. Undertaken by China National Electric Engineering Co., Ltd. (CNEEC), the project started in September 2014 and is scheduled to operate in September this year. 

 

When visiting the project, the reporter saw that there was a modern plant near the Koshe waste landfill. The entire plant area is clean and tidy and has a white building that is about eight-story high. The whole “waste-to-energy” process is highly automated and completed within the plant. At present, the installation work has been basically completed and is about to enter the stage of commissioning phase.

 

He Yaoguo, Vice General Manager of the 3rd Business Unit of CNEEC, told the reporter that this is a cooperation project between China and Ethiopia in the field of environmental protection, aiming to build a power plant that is capable of treating 1,280 tons of household wastes per day, that is to say, the wastes collected from the city can be treated on a daily basis. The project has found a green path for the urban development of Addis Ababa. In the future, all household wastes will be incinerated in power plant for electricity generation, and the incinerated residues are free of peculiar smell and hazardous substances. 

 

Effects——Provide the whole city with stable and reliable power supply.

The technology of grate incineration is adopted in the plant, using two 25MW turbine generators and the whole electricity generation process is fully sealed. The closed-type waste truck dumps the wastes into a huge waste bin, where the wastes ferment for several days before being hoisted into a boiler to produce water vapor for electricity generation.

 

At the time of waste incineration, the furnace temperature may reach 850-950℃. Through incineration and fume treatment, the hazardous substances in wastes will be completely removed in a harmless way. After being burnt into ash residue, wastes will be reduced by 80% by volume, and the incinerated residues can be used as building materials or backfilled in a harmless way. In addition, the flue gas emission of the power plant is subject to the EU 2000 standard and the wastewater discharge has reached the standard for Grade-III water. 

 

Garbage power generation is considered as one of the best measures for treating household wastes. According to Zhang Sheng, manager of the Reppie Wast-to-Energy Plant from CNEEC, upon its completion, the project is expected to not only solve the problem of wastes treatment in Addis Ababa, but also provide the city with stable and reliable power supplies. The project is one of the only two Ethiopian projects that take part in international carbon emission reduction trading. 

 

“After over 10 years of development, over 200 waste-to-energy plants have been built in China. China has accumulated abundant technologies and rich experience in the field of waste power generation, and its level of localization kept improving, laying a solid foundation for Chinese companies to ‘go global’.” He Yaoguo said, “Ethiopia Electric Company highly recognized China’s experience in and technologies of waste treatment, and all the standards, technologies and equipments in the entire plant are from China.”

 

Ethiopian Electric Power CEO Azeb Asnake told the reporter that the plant is a highlight of the cooperation between Ethiopia and China. Ethiopia is committed to developing green energy and has developed corresponding plans to support the increasing of the proportion of renewable energy. The plant is an important part of the green energy strategy of Ethiopia. Mulatu Teshome, Ethiopia’s President, said that project is a epitome of the recent rapid economic progress of the country, and the first waste-to-energy plant in Ethiopia and Africa. Ethiopia is committed to realizing “environment-friendly industrialization” and energy diversity, which are also the original purpose of the construction of the power plant in the country. 

 

Meaning——Build a landmark project for accelerating urbanization

“It is a landmark project of Ethiopia and even the Africa,” said Asnake, “For the plant, the significance of its waste treatment is greater than that of its power generation. This is because that in such large cities as Addis Ababa, the treatment of household wastes has become increasingly vital to the people’s wellbeing and has an unusual social meaning. ”

 

“It is the only waste-to-energy plant in Africa and plays an exemplary role,” said He Yaoguo. In recent years, Ethiopia’s economy has grown rapidly, with an average annual growth rate of over 10%. However, Addis Ababa is plagued with restricted urban space, increasing shortage of land, mounting pressure of population, and ballooning urban household wastes. The waste-to-energy plant may help solve the sanitation problem of the city to a great extent. 

 

Over the past 20 years, Africa has experienced the rapidest urbanization in the world. According to the data of the World Bank, 36% of the total population of Africa are living in urban areas, and the number is expected to rise to 50% in 2050. According to the United Nations Human Settlements Program, the urbanization in Arica will give rise to huge household wastes, but there are yet appropriate “waste management services” in African cities. 

 

Besides Addis Ababa, many other African cities are also plagued with wastes, and surrounded by landfills like Koshe, posing threats to health and safety of local people. The waste-to-energy plant in Addis Ababa has set an example for other African cities. Waste-to-energy projects take up little space, can effectively control secondary pollutions, and achieve the goals of “harmless, emission-reduced, and recycled” waste treatment. 

 

“In its construction process, the plant had been frequently visited by municipal delegations from African countries,” said Zhang Sheng, “the project has delivered driving effects on other African countries, once a time, over 10 mayors visited here and showed strong interests in the project.” 

 

“The project has changed their ideas,” said Zhang Sheng. Waste incineration for electricity generation in Africa has the following benefits. 1. It can solve the problem of environmental pollution. 2. It can alleviate the power shortage in Africa and bring considerable overall economic benefits. “After the plant has gone into operation, it is expected that more African countries will follow suit.”

 

 

Related links:

http://world.people.com.cn/n1/2017/0619/c1002-29346685.html