Renewable Energy Waste not, want not?
Jarmo Vihersalo presents a compelling argument for transforming waste to energy
L
andfi ll was traditionally regarded as one of the main means of waste disposal. Its popularity can simply
be ascribed to the fact that it is one of the most cost-effi cient methods of disposing of waste. Naturally it has been especially popular in countries where large open spaces were available. However, as a greater focus on more sustainable waste management programmes has come to the fore, landfi ll sites and their potential to pollute the local environment as a result of the methane generated by decaying organic waste are a hotly debated topic.
Landfi ll sites are a hotly debated topic
The UK, for example, has been very dependent on landfi ll but it has an ever-increasing amount of waste being generated. With more than 200 million tonnes of waste generated in the UK in 2012, it’s no wonder the country is expected to run out of new landfi ll sites by 2020. As a result, advances in technology and the growing pressure to reduce emissions have meant waste is now becoming a valuable source of power generation. Today, there
is more and more investment behind unconventional power sources such as solar, wind and municipal waste as the global demand increases day by day. Furthermore, a recent report from Frost & Sullivan shows that the waste-to-energy market will reach £17.05 billion in 2016
This step change in energy production signals an exciting time for the power sector. It was recently reported that an anaerobic digestion plant in the UK would process 45,000 tonnes of food waste from household and commercial sources to produce 2.1 MW of electricity. In the USA, one waste-to-energy plant has been constructed to process more than 1 million tons of municipal solid waste per year, reducing the reliance on landfi ll by up to 90%. It’s these innovations that are driving the waste-to-energy sector forward and are why renewable fuels are expected to be approaching 4% of global energy demand by 2040.
Europe is an important player in the waste to energy market, with Germany leading the way in biogas production. Germany has almost 8,000 biogas plants employing 41,000 people and in 2014, more than 26 billion kWh of electricity was generated from these plants.
Other European countries are also contributing to the development and production of biogas – the UK, Italy, France and the Netherlands are all important markets. Germany’s primary source is biomass waste, whereas the UK’s electricity is
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