Assessment of electricity generation potential and economic analysis through different municipal solid waste management scenarios: a case study

Waste-to-energy (WTE) technologies are now considered an option for sustainable municipal solid waste (MSW) management and one of the most important renewable energy resources. Indeed, a comprehensive evaluation of the different WTE configurations has not yet been fully investigated in Iran. The present study aims to evaluate both the energy and economic aspects of different WTE technologies in a case study in Iran. The possible strategies evaluated in this study include recovery of landfill gas (LFG), incineration, and anaerobic digestion (AD). Economic analysis was assessed through the net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), and the levelized cost of energy (LCOE). All the estimations were computed over a period of 20 years starting in 2020 and ending in 2040. Based on LandGEM, which was used to predict the landfill’s annual biogas flow, the maximum biogas production was found to be 27.7 million m³ in 2034. The average annual energy production of the incineration, AD, and LFG were 20.65, 7.27, and 1.60 GWh, respectively, indicating incineration had the greatest potential for energy generation. Nevertheless, the AD scenario was found to be the most profitable with a positive NPV of 4.72 million USD, IRR of 17%, and the lowest LCOE of 0.05 USD/kWh. On the other hand, the incineration was found to be economically infeasible. Our results show that there is enormous potential to convert MSW into energy. Iranian governors should pay more attention to WTE approaches and promote recycling programs to increase the efficiency of AD plants.