Warmth from Waste: A Win-Win Synergy
An initiative to assist Europe to meet its objectives to decarbonise its energy supply system – by realising the potential of generating energy from waste and using it for district heating and cooling
Waste-to-Energy (WtE) plants efficiently and safely treat the waste that remains after household waste is sorted for recycling. As a major part of this residue is biodegradable, the energy produced is regarded as partly renewable.
On the other hand, the fundamental idea behind modern District Heating and Cooling is to make use of local heat, cooling and fuel sources that otherwise would be lost or remain underused.
Waste represents a local, cost-effective, secure and sustainable energy that is already used in some District Heating and Cooling networks, allowing them to deliver affordable energy and reducing primary energy consumption.
Increased use of the synergy between Waste-to-Energy and District Heating and Cooling also supports Europe’s objective to decarbonise its energy system by at least 80% (below 1990 levels) by 2050. The EU Directive on Energy from Renewable Sources also sets a 20% target for renewable energy by 2020 and targets for 2030 are under discussion.
In Europe, the energy recovered from Waste-to-Energy plants for District Heating represents 50 TWh per year, i.e. around 10% of the total heat delivered through District Heating systems. Studies suggest that the potential for using heat from waste is equivalent to 200 TWh per year by 2050, which means that there are still opportunities for further development.
The Warmth from Waste report explains in more details the benefits for Europe to support the synergy between Waste-to-Energy and District Heating and Cooling.
After explaining the current situation of both industries, some success stories and the current legal framework, this document focuses on the needs, in term of projects to be developed, to ensure that this opportunity of synergy is not lost.
Read the full report here.
Read the report’s summery here.