POWER June 2020 - 46

WASTE TO ENERGY
Waste-to-Energy Strategies
Are Not Dead
Few waste-to-energy (WTE) plants have been completed in the U.S. since the mid
1990s, but the story is different around the world, where WTE technology is seen as
a suitable solution to municipal solid waste management challenges. New processes,
such as landfill gas collection, could find support everywhere as they provide a
more environmentally friendly way to reduce methane emissions.
Aaron Larson
D
o you know what happens to
garbage after you throw it away?
If you're in a community with a
waste-to-energy (WTE) plant, it may be
powering your lights. According to the Energy
Information Administration's (EIA's)
Monthly Electric Generator Inventory
report from February 2020, there were
83 WTE plants in the U.S. with a total
nameplate capacity of more than 2,553
MW. Yet, only about 13% of the municipal
solid waste (MSW) generated in the
U.S. is burned in WTE plants, according
to the EIA.
A World of Opportunity
However, WTE facilities are more popular
in other parts of the world. ResearchAnd
Markets.com in a March 2020-released
report said it expects the world's WTE
market to grow at a compound annual
growth rate of about 6.45% through
2025. It claims growing urban populations
in the Asia-Pacific region, greater
industrialization, and an increase in economic
development are driving a surge
in MSW. It says the effective disposal
of MSW has become a serious environmental
challenge in some parts of Asia,
and suggests thermal-based WTE plants
offer a viable solution to the porblem.
Meanwhile, countries in Europe and the
Middle East are also adding WTE plants
to their power mixes.
Japan. Japan leads the world in the
percentage of its waste utilized in WTE
facilities, burning 72% of its MSW in
energy recovery systems (Figure 1). The
country has focused on WTE technology
since as early as the 1960s. One reason
the WTE industry has thrived in Japan
is because the country has little room
for landfills and burning waste has been
considered a better solution.
According to a United Press International
(UPI) article published last year, Ja46
1.
This chart shows the percent of total municipal solid waste that is burned with energy recovery
in selected countries. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration
pan operates more than 380 WTE plants
domestically. Now, Japan is looking to
export its WTE expertise to other countries.
UPI reported that Japan is pursuing
agreements to construct WTE plants in
Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
Thailand was also mentioned as a prime
target because it has been dumping
garbage in the ocean. " Tokyo's goal is
to conclude technical agreements with
10 'regions' and build waste-to-energy
plants in the region, " the article says.
Israel. The Times of Israel reported
in May that three WTE plants had been
greenlighted
in
central
Israel as part
of the Environment Ministry's plan to
reduce the amount of waste going to
landfills. One of the proposed sites is
southeast of Tel Aviv, another is in the
northern industrial zone of Ashdod, and
the third is east of Jerusalem. Israel's
" Strategic
Plan
for
the Treatment of
Waste by 2030 " targets recycling 51%
of its waste, treating another 23% at
WTE plants, and sending 26% to landfill,
compared to about 80% that ends up in
landfill today.
Russia. A new WTE plant designed to
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process 720,000 tons of MSW per year
is being constructed near Moscow (Figure
2). It is expected to be the first of four
plants to be built in the region in coming
years. Hitachi Zosen Inova AG is the engineering,
procurement, and construction
contractor for the project, which will
have a thermal capacity of 227.5 MW
and an electrical capacity of 75 MW. In
May, Valmet announced that it would
supply its DNA automation system and
an information management system to
control the new plant's boiler and balance
of plant. The facility will be owned
and operated by Alternative Generating
Company-1 (AGC-1) and is expected to
commence operation in 2022.
Italy. However, there are other ways
to extract energy from MSW than simply
by burning it. In May, the European
Commission cleared the formation of
a WTE joint venture between a unit of
Italian oil and gas company Eni SpA and
CDP Equity SpA-a holding company
of Cassa depositi e prestiti Group that
invests in " Italian companies of major
national interest. " The agreement establishes
a company called CircularIT, which
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POWER June 2020

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