More than $12 Billion of Global Waste-to-Energy Projects Under Construction

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Written by Eric Funderburk for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

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Summary

Industrial Info Resources is tracking more than 110 major waste-to-energy projects presently under construction throughout the world, worth more than US$12 billion in combined investment.

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Big Business

Solid waste is out there--lots of it. An abundance of trash, coupled with an ever-present need to reduce landfill use and have solid baseload sources of power has led the waste-to-energy sector to grow into a substantial segment of the global power market--in certain parts of the world at least.

Industrial Info Resources data show more than US$12 billion worth of major waste-to-energy (WtE) projects presently under construction across the world and a whopping $US40 billion in various stages of planning and engineering.

Geographic Hotspots

Of course, the 112 under-construction WtE projects aren't evenly distributed throughout the world, and certain geographic hotspots emerge. Several countries, including the U.S., may have only one or two WtE projects underway. The largest number of underway WtE construction projects is found in China, but the two prime investment areas for these projects are the U.K. and Japan.

Current waste-to-energy projects in the U.K. amount to investments of more than US$3 billion, and the two largest WtE projects presently underway are both in the U.K., worth a combined US$1.3 billion. The larger of these is the Edmonton EcoPark in north London, which is replacing an older WtE plant that has been operating for 50 years with an updated facility capable of processing up to 700,000 metric tons of nonrecyclable waste annually, generating 78 megawatts (MW) of power for more than 125,000 homes and heat for about half that number. The construction project was in the planning and engineering stages for more than decade before finally breaking ground in late 2022. Industrial Info Resources data indicate the plant will be completed in the first half of next year.

The U.K.'s second blockbuster WtE construction project is in the north of England in Northwich, Cheshire, in the Liverpool-Manchester area. The Lostock Sustainable Energy Plant has been under construction at the site of a former coal-fired power plant since 2021 and should be completed toward the end of this year. After completion, the facility will begin ramping up toward its full operations of providing more than 60 MW of power and heat to the grid by processing 600,000 tons per year of municipal solid waste. The project is a joint venture of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and FCC Environment.

While Japan emerges as the world's second-highest spender for current waste-to-energy construction, the county doesn't boast the blockbuster projects seen in the U.K. and instead supports a larger number of smaller projects. Japan is, in fact, second only to China in the number of on-the-ground WtE projects. Many of Japan's current projects will provide between 1 and 6 MW of waste-fueled energy to the grid, although there are notable larger exceptions. One of Japan's WtE construction projects requiring the largest investment is the Nanyo WtE plant in Nagoya, Aichi prefecture. Industrial Info Resources had been reporting on the project for almost a decade when construction finally began in the summer of 2023. The 27-MW plant is expected to be completed in early 2027.

Other Global Regions

Thanks in large part to the U.K.'s contribution, Europe emerges as the leading global spender for current WtE projects. In addition to 13 projects underway in the U.K., Industrial Info Resources is tracking 17 more WtE projects under construction in the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Poland and Switzerland.

The WtE sector remains a miniscule component of the U.S. power mix, although the plants are not unknown. The largest U.S. WtE projects loom in the future, and Florida is a key location for them. As a 15-MW WtE facility in Pasco County, Florida, wraps up construction and begins the commissioning phase, one of the largest WtE plans in the U.S. comes from Tampa, Florida, where the city plans to upgrade two boilers and the controls system at the existing McKay Bay Waste-to-Energy Plant. Upgrades to Boiler No. 3 potentially could begin this year, followed by upgrades to Boiler No. 4 next year and the controls systems in 2028.

A potential 10- to 15-MW WtE microgrid addition could be built by the City of Camden, New Jersey, but the project has been in planning for more than six years and isn't expected to begin until late 2027 at the earliest. No other major WtE additions or grassroot construction are on the U.S. horizon at the moment.

Key Takeaways

• Industrial Info Resources is tracking more than US$12 billion worth of waste-to-energy projects under construction across the world and another US$40 billion in the planning and engineering stages.
• The U.K. emerges as the highest spending for current WtE construction projects.
• WtE is a small part of the U.S. power mix, and the largest project on the books consists of upgrades at an existing WtE plant in Tampa, Florida.

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About Industrial Info Resources
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, Industrial Info Resources is tracking over 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 trillion (USD).