Market Trends of China Waste to Energy Industry
This section covers the major market trends shaping the China Waste to Energy Market according to our research experts:
Thermal-based Waste-to-Energy Conversion to Dominate the Market
- In 2019, China became one of the prominent countries that installed the world's largest incineration plant (the Shenzhen East waste-to-energy plant). The plant can process 2.7 million ton of waste per year and generate 1.5 billion kilowatt-hours of power per year.
- Plants that utilize cogeneration of thermal power (heating and cooling), along with electricity generation, are estimated to reach optimum efficiencies of 80%.
- Presently, incineration is the most well-known waste-to-energy technology for municipal solid waste (MSW) processing.
- However, waste-to-energy technologies, particularly incineration, produce pollution and carry potential health safety risks.
- To reduce particulate and gas-phase emissions, incineration plant owners have adopted a series of process units for cleaning the flue gas stream, leading to a significant improvement in terms of environmental sustainability.
Increasing Investments to Drive the Market
- China is the second-largest producer of municipal waste in the world. Therefore, it initiated waste sorting plans in 2017 and aims to build 100 zero-waste cities by 2025.
- The country's disposed waste increased from 158 million ton in 2010 to 248.7 million ton in 2021, an increase of around 57.4%.
- Under Chinese President Xi Jinping's plan to tackle pollution, the incineration industry is expected to continue its expansion and replace stinky, polluting, land-intensive garbage dumps. With its massive population producing vast quantities of garbage (increasing by 8-10% annually), China is looking for new facilities that burn solid waste to produce electricity.
- By 2025, China's solid waste generation is expected to double to more than 500 million metric ton annually. This factor is further expected to create a huge demand for waste treatment facilities in the country during the forecast period.
- Such factors are expected to drive the market for waste to energy in China during the forecast period.