India Waste-to-Energy (WTE) Market Outlook to 2028

In a year dominated by covid-19, public awareness about cleanliness has increased pressure on the urban local governments and industries to manage trash more efficiently has increased the demand for waste to energy plants.

The increasing urbanization, industrialization, and changes in the pattern of life have given rise to a generation of increasing quantities of waste. In recent years, waste to energy technologies have been developed that not only help generate a substantial quantity of decentralized energy but also reduce the amount of trash for its safe disposal.

Some of the Drivers:

• Increasing energy demand as countries shift from coal to renewable energy is increasing the demand for Waste to energy generation.
• Efficient waste recovery, electricity generation and other biogases will minimize the environmental impact of modern WTE plants and offer significant carbon dioxide (CO2) savings.

Waste-to-energy (WtE) or energy-from-waste (EfW) is the process of producing energy from municipal waste, biomedical waste, agricultural waste and other waste in electricity and heat. Waste to energy conversion is a type of energy recovery. Most waste to energy operations directly generate electricity and heat through burning or generating a combustible fuel commodity such as methane, methanol, ethanol, or synthetic fuels. 

Types of waste to energy technologies:

Biological:

Biomethanation: Biomethanation is the anaerobic digestion of organic materials converted into biogas and manure. Anaerobic digestion is a bacterial fermentation process that operates without oxygen and results in biogas mainly containing methane (CH4), carbon dioxide (CO2), and other gases. 

Thermal: 

Incineration: Incineration technology is the complete combustion of Waste (Municipal Solid Waste or Refuse derived fuel) with heat recovery to produce steam that generates power through steam turbines.

Gasification: Gasification is used at high temperatures (500-1800 deg C) in the presence of low oxygen to decompose materials to produce synthetic gas and hydrogen (H2). Biomass, agro-residues, and municipal solid waste are used in the gasifier to produce syngas. This gas can further be used for thermal or power generation purposes.

Pyrolysis: Pyrolysis uses combustion to break down materials without oxygen, producing a mixture of combustible gases, primarily methane, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, liquids, and solid residues. The products of the pyrolysis process are: 

● Gas mixture

● Liquid (bio-oil/tar)

● Solid residue (carbon black). 

The gas generated by these processes can be used in boilers to provide heat or cleaned up and used in combustion turbine generators. The pyrolysis of Waste is to minimize emissions and maximize the gain.

India Waste to Energy Market Scenario

The Indian government has identified waste to energy as a renewable (clean Energy) technology and is supporting it with different subsidies and incentives. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is actively promoting all viable technologies for energy recovery from municipal and industrial wastes. 

In India, the conventional waste disposal methods include waste collection by unorganised waste pickers, waste burning (industrial waste, food waste, and other hazardous waste), and landfilling, all of which release carbon dioxide. The Waste To Energy Plant initiatives can help minimise carbon emission. With government incentives for constructing waste to energy facilities, the number of incineration plants and WTE facilities has increased in India.

In India's metropolitan regions, around 55 million tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) and 38 million litres of sewage are created each year. In addition, industries create a considerable amount of solid and liquid waste. Waste output in India is anticipated to skyrocket in the coming years. Consumption levels and trash generation rates are anticipated to climb as more people relocate to cities and income levels rise. It is projected that the quantity of trash created in India would rise at a per capita rate of 1-1.33% each year.

By the end of 2021, 249 Waste to Energy plants, 819 Biomass Power plants, and 50.8 lakhs small biogas plants have been set up across the country to generate Biogas/ Power/ BioCNG.

India Waste to Energy Policies, Programmes, and Others

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is promoting the national program to recover energy from industrial, urban, and rural wastes. Since this program seeks to facilitate the setting up of waste-to-energy and biomass gasifier projects, various financial incentives and other eligibility criteria have been proposed by the MNRE to encourage participation in waste-to-energy projects.

Waste to Energy Policies:

• Solid Waste Management Rules,2016:  
  • Segregation at the source.
  • Collection and disposal of sanitary waste.
  • Collect Back scheme for packaging waste.
  • User fees for Collection.
  • Waste processing and treatment.
  • Promoting the use of compost.
  • Promotion of waste to energy.
• Financial Support Scheme to Promote Innovative Industrial Organic Waste-to-Energy (IOWtE) Biomethanation Technologies and Business Models in India & GIS Waste Mapping Tool
• “Programme on Energy from Urban, Industrial, Agricultural Wastes/Residues and Municipal Solid Waste” and “Scheme to Support Promotion of Biomass-Based Cogeneration in Sugar Mills and Other Industries in The Country”
• Concessional Custom Duty Certificates (CCDCs) for setting up projects for the generation of Compressed bio-gas (BioCNG) using Urban and Industrial Wastes of Renewable Nature. 

The Financial Assistance for waste to energy plants is listed below:

• Financial assistance is provided through interest subsidies for commercial and industrial projects.
• Financial assistance is provided on the capital cost for innovative or technological projects in terms of the generation of power from municipal/ industrial wastes.
• Carbon Credits are provided for power generation/ Bio methanation.
• Financial incentives or credits are given to municipal corporations for supplying garbage at the project site.
• Incentives are given to the state and nodal agencies to promote, coordinate, and monitor such projects.
• Financial assistance is given for carrying out studies on waste to energy projects, covering the total costs of such studies.
• Assistance is given in training courses, workshops and seminars, and awareness generation.

Some of the India Waste to Energy Market Opportunities:

• Growing demand for biofertilizers in the global market.
• Increasing natural gas prices are increasing the demand for biogas.
• Rapid urban population growth and increasing population density resulting in increase in urban waste generation.
• A scarcity of land for waste landfills.
• Public-private partnerships in municipal solid waste (MSW) and waste-to-energy.

Some of the India Waste to Energy Market Challenges:

• Lack of financial resources with Municipal Corporations/Urban Local Bodies to promote and supply waste to the plants.
• High energy tariffs compared to solar and wind.

Some of the India Waste to Energy Market Restraints:

• Poor Policy implementation by government and public in Segregation of wastes.
• Growing pollution levels from waste to energy plants are causing the plants to shut down in major cities.

Some of the Recent Developments:

• In June 2022, Guntur Municipal Corporation established a 15 MW Waste to Energy Plant with Jindal Ecolipus.
• In March 2022, South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) is planning to complete a second waste to energy plant and construct an engineered landfill site by 2023.
• East Delhi Waste Processing Company Limited's 12 MW WtE project in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, has also supplied power to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. To promote and make viable WtE projects, the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission announced in January 2019 that WtE projects in the National Capital Territory of Delhi will be exempt from open access and deviation charges for intra-state scheduling. These exemptions will be applicable for the useful life of the existing projects, on future projects commissioned on or before March 31, 2022, and also on those for which power purchase agreements have been signed on or before March 31, 2022.
• The Bidadi waste to energy plant in Karnataka is being built by KPCL and BBMP, with each agency investing Rs 130 crore. It will be able to process 600 TPD of Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) to create 11.5 MW of electricity, resulting in an annual output of 80.59 million units, which will be evacuated through an underground cable to KPTCL's 220 kV Bidadi sub-station. The facility will incinerate RDF to generate electricity and is in accordance with the Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016. The plant will have a 20-year lifetime.
• The advanced municipal solid waste (MSW) processing plant, according to Agra Municipal Corporation (AMC) officials, will be built at the Kuberpur landfill site by the end of 2022. It will generate 15 MW of power by processing 1000 metric tonnes of solid waste per day. A large amount of legacy waste (approximately 6 lakh tones, according to AMC records) has accumulated at the landfill site over time, in addition to the 700-750 tonnes of mixed MSW that is dumped at the landfill site every day. Spaak Bresson Pvt Ltd, based in Faridabad, has been hired to carry out the WtE project and expects to begin construction of the plant once local clearances are obtained.
• In Shimla, a Waste-to-energy project based on MSW is being established, and power generation trials began in September 2020. The WtE plant is capable of producing 2 MW of electricity per day. The plant would need 100 tonnes of waste per day to generate electricity for the city. This requirement will be met by waste generated in Shimla and some of its surrounding areas.

Blackridge Research's India Waste-to-Energy (WTE) Market report provides insights into the current global market demand and regional market demand scenario and its outlook.

The study offers a detailed analysis of various factors instrumental in affecting the India Waste-to-Energy (WTE) market's growth. The study also comprehensively analyses the India Waste-to-Energy (WTE) market by segmenting it based on Technology (Biology, Thermal).

The Indian Waste-to-Energy (WTE) Industry market report also addresses present and future market opportunities, market trends, developments, and the impact of Covid-19 on the India Waste-to-Energy (WTE) market, important commercial developments, trends, regions, and segments poised for the fastest-growth (including market growth rate), competitive landscape.

Further, the India Waste to Energy Market report will also provide India Waste to Energy market size (total India Waste-to-Energy (WTE) market revenue), demand forecast, Industry growth rates (CAGR), Market Share of key market players, and trade (imports and exports).