Site suitability analysis for waste to energy plant in Kaduna metropolis, Nigeria

Kaduna metropolis generates large amount of waste resulting from rapid population and economic growth. The metropolis is also confronted with the problem of waste management and poor electricity supply. In spite of the energy potentials of the large amount of waste generated in the metropolis faced with poor electricity supply, attempt has not been made to exploit these potentials in order to boost energy supply mix in the metropolis. As a first and critical step in this direction, this study applied Geographic Information System (GIS) and Multicriteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) techniques to identify suitable locations for the development of Waste to Energy (WtE) plant in Kaduna metropolis. Six criteria were utilized namely; distance from powerline, Land use Land cover, distance from road, distance from surface water, distance from existing dumpsite and slope. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique was used to determine weights of each criterion based on experts’ judgement. Findings revealed that 8.60% and 57% of the study area are not suitable and less suitable for siting a WtE plant, while 34.36% and 0.05% of the study area are marginally suitable and moderately suitable respectively for siting WtE plant. The reason why only 34% of the study area is moderately suitable is due to the metropolitan nature of the study area. Adoption of WtE technology could provide efficient waste management system and also help to boost electricity supply in order to meet the energy demand in the metropolis.