Benefits of waste-to-energy facilities

Planning for the future of solid waste takes time and consid­er­a­tion to achieve success. Multiple elements must be considered at once: projecting future needs, engaging the public, conducting siting studies, considering political elements, and more. Siting a new solid waste management facility is one of the most difficult tasks experts in this field will face, but a functional and efficient facility is key to extracting beneficial resources and disposing of the material effectively, while reducing or eliminating reliance on outside disposal entities.

While landfilling is technically the only method of waste disposal, and alternatives are technically classified as diversion or volume reduction, some methods can produce or extract beneficial resources before disposal. That's where waste-to-energy (WTE) comes in.

What is WTE?

WTE, also known as Energy from Waste (EfW), entails generating energy in the form of electricity and/or heat from the combustion of waste. WTE plants burn municipal solid waste (MSW), or trash, to produce steam in a boiler, and the steam is used to power a turbine generator. Mass burn WTE is the industry standard, where all waste is combusted as received without prepro­cess­ing.

WTE generates revenue from the sale of electricity to the utility. Local electric utilities are required to purchase all electricity generated by the WTE plant. These plants on average export 550 kwh/ton of processed MSW. The revenue from this electricity varies depending on the purchasing utility and when the facility was contracted.

Why should a community consider a WTE facility?

WTE facilities offer several benefits, contribut­ing to both envi­ron­men­tal and energy-related objectives.

• WTE facilities offer a limited envi­ron­men­tal footprint. Even a large scale WTE plant requires less than 30 acres, compared to a landfill, for which the ultimate size and avail­abil­ity of land can be a significant hurdle.
• They generate renewable energy and diversify preexisting energy sources. WTE facilities can be considered a renewable energy source as long as the waste supply is sustained, and they reduce the dependence on finite fossil fuels.
• The longevity of a WTE facility is a benefit to consider. It’s a long-term solution, lasting about 5 decades (and longer) with retrofits and expansions.
• It can be designed specif­i­cally for expansion by leveraging an additional processing train to solidify the facility’s longevity and maximize investments.
• WTE facilities conserve space in landfills. Ash at these facilities takes up 10% of the volume of trash.
  WTE facilities incorporate processes to recover metals from the ash generated during combustion, contribut­ing to metal recycling efforts.
• Communities that rely on WTE are documented to have more effective recycling programs.
• They reduce greenhouse gas emissions in comparison to landfills. By reducing the amount of organic waste sent to landfills, WTE facilities help prevent the formation of methane, which is a very harmful greenhouse gas pollutant. They also promote lower carbon emissions.