Waste to energy plant as an energy renewable source: Financial feasibility

Great quantities of waste are conferred in landfill and this causes serious damages to the ecosystems. Nowadays waste to energy (WTE) is considered an effective disposal system for unsorted materials. Heat and electricity produced by waste is able to develop the circular economy and can help to reduce the dependence on imported fossil fuels. This paper aims to define the financial feasibility of investments in WTE plants of different sizes (from 50kt to 750kt). The indicator used for calculating the profitability is financial net present value (FNPV). Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis on critical variables (selling price of electricity, heat selling price, degree of saturation, investment cost, cost of elimination of ash and slag waste, risk free, lower heating value) is conducted and the role of subsidies is investigated. These results can support the choices of local and national policy-makers.