Leading the waste to energy market with over 429 installed plants, the European waste to energy sector might find trouble amid the sour global economy according to Frost & Sullivan.
In 2008 the European waste to energy plants market earned revenues of €3.10 billion with the EU’s stance to move away from landfills to find better alternatives indirectly helping the industry. “The most important driver for the waste to energy plants market in Europe has been the Landfill Directive and its waste diversion targets,” confirms Frost & Sullivan environmental technologies research associate Karthikeyan Ravikumar. “This has resulted in the diversion of waste from landfills to waste to energy plants.”
France and Germany have the largest number of waste to energy plants, and they have instituted the proper treatment of waste from landfills. In addition to the Landfill Directive, the growing demand for power, paralleled by volatile oil prices, has made waste to energy plants a viable alternative for the disposal of waste. However, the delay in obtaining environmental and other permits has restrained the growth of this market considerably.
“The process of obtaining an environmental permit for the construction of a waste to energy plant is quite tedious,” cautions Ravikumar. “The delay affects the price of raw materials and, thereby, the overall revenues.”
The current economic downturn will affect the future for market expansion, much like other areas within renewable energy. F&S said that the decline in investments will “undoubtedly affect plants that are in the planning stage and that are on the lookout for finance. This could result in projects being delayed or postponed by a year or two.”
For more information, please contact Patrick Cairns, F&S Corp. Communications, at patrick.cairns@frost.com.