Biogas at Schools in South Africa: A Case Study on Khangezile Primary

Khangezile Primary School was fortunate enough to be chosen as one of four schools by Earthlife Africa, an environmental justice organization, to have renewable energy technology installed in the school as part of the Sustainable Energy and Livelihoods project. The school in KwaThema, east of Johannesburg is now able to feed about 400 children twice a day which is also subsidised by the Gauteng Department of Education. The funds for the project were sponsored by the European Union and Oxfam.

Now equipped with a biogas digester as well as solar panels, the school is now able to go almost entirely off the grid. The social impacts of having a bio digester at a school can also be seen through the improved quality of life for the students and their families due to the reduction of waste, rats and associated health problems.

This success has now seen an increase in demand in other schools around the country. The USAID South African Low Emissions Development (SA-LED) Program conducted a co-benefits study on the use of biogas in schools and was able to learn from the benefits with Khangezile Primary School as the pilot project of a school using biogas.