Lagos embraces biofuel value chain for greener public transit
In Lagos, Nigeria, a CPCS study has enabled the creation of a biogas value chain that promises to provide cleaner fuel alternative for the city’s public bus system, create job opportunities, and enhance electricity access in Africa’s fastest-growing urban centers.
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Sector: Transport, bus transit Client: Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA). Project funded by Swedfund. Client type: Transport Authority Location: Lagos, Nigeria |
Challenge
CPCS was engaged to assess the feasibility of biofuel as an alternative fuel for LAMATA’s bus fleet to significantly reduce carbon emissions in the Lagos Metropolitan Area. The city’s rapid expansion has strained the city’s public transit capacity and worsened congestion, significantly contributing to air pollution.
CPCS services
- Guided the completion of an overview of the biogas/biofuel landscape in Nigeria
- Estimated fuel consumption demand over time by LAMATA’s buses, and associated fuel emissions
- Completed a comparative analysis of the different alternative fuel options that can be considered for LAMATA’s buses
- Conducted a technical, operational, environmental and social, economic and financial feasibility analysis of the preferred alternative fuel option
- Prepared an implementation strategy and its associated roadmap
- Delivered workshops for knowledge transfer
Solutions
CPCS identified biogas as the optimal alternative fuel for LAMATA’s bus fleet. The transportation authority will work with Lagos State to develop the biogas value chain, which will result in the production of biogas, electricity, and fertilizer. The entire biogas value chain will have far-reaching impacts for the public transit system and beyond.
How it’ll work:
- Organic waste will be collected from wastewater treatment plants, households and markets, farms and abattoirs
- Waste will then be transported to a biogas plant
- The first commercial scale biogas plant in Africa will transform waste into biogas, electricity, and fertilizer
- Electricity will be connected to the grid, increasing electricity capacity in the region
- Biogas will be distributed to LAMATA as a clean fuel source for public buses
Impacts
- Reduced congestion: LAMATA will upgrade its fleet with 1,000 biogas-powered buses to increase public transit capacity and reduce road congestion.
- Better air quality: As a clean energy source, biogas will result in less greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to better air quality.
- Jobs and knowledge: Jobs will be created across the entire biogas value chain. New technology will also be introduced, along with the transfer of knowledge to support the development and maintenance of the biogas plant.
- Access to electricity: Biogas will be used to produce electricity, providing more equitable access for people and industry.
- High-quality fertilizer: A byproduct of the waste-to-energy process will be fertilizer, which can be used by farmers to feed their crops.
- Replicability: The biogas value chain can be replicated in any country, since waste exists everywhere.
