Energy and Economic Impact Assessment of Municipal Solid Waste to Energy in Bangladesh

Abstract

Abstract Modern technology converts waste materials into energy through various processes, such as incineration and gasification. The government of Bangladesh (GoB) has targeted to generate 10% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2025. The plot of this study is the two parts of Dhaka city corporations, which are under tremendous pressure to manage its huge amount of solid waste. Proper regional management and waste to Energy (WtE) technology will benefit the city economically and environmentally. The study assessed a range of 15–35% overall system efficiency and 60–80% plant capacity with a moisture content of 50–60%. No process is seen to be economically viable under the current FiT. Therefore, a new FiT of $0.21 (BDT 17.85) per kWh for WtE technology is proposed for harnessing renewable energy from solid wastes in the context of Bangladesh, which can bring the environment of the established landfills at Matuail and Amin Bazar in two parts of Dhaka city corporation namely North and South. Four technologies are analyzed in this study; among them, the best economic performance is found in resource recovery canters with waste-to-energy technology. This waste management technique requires the lowest capital investment (CAPEX) and minimum operational expenses (OPEX) among the four alternatives studied. With the prevailing conditions of the wastes and a suggested FiT of $0.21 per kWh, the NPV is estimated to be USD 31.4 million, the IRR of the project stands at 18.16%, the B/C ratio is 1.32, and ROI is 32.28%.