A Techno-Economic Evaluation of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Conversion to Energy in Indonesia

Abstract

Municipal solid waste (MSW) processing is still problematic in Indonesia. From the hierarchy of waste management, it is clear that energy recovery from waste could be an option after prevention and the 5R (rethink, refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle) processes. The Presidential Regulation No 35/2018 mandated the acceleration of waste-to-energy (WtE) plant adoption in Indonesia. The present study aimed to demonstrate a techno-economic evaluation of a commercial WtE plant in Indonesia by processing 1000 tons of waste/day to produce ca. 19.7 MW of electricity. The WtE electricity price is set at USD 13.35 cent/kWh, which is already higher than the average household price at USD 9.76 cent/kWh. The capital investment is estimated at USD 102.2 million. The annual operational cost is estimated at USD 12.1 million and the annual revenue at USD 41.6 million. At this value, the internal rate of return (IRR) for the WtE plant is 25.32% with a payout time (PoT) of 3.47 years. In addition, this study also takes into account electricity price sales, tipping fee, and pretreatment cost of waste. The result of a sensitivity analysis showed that the electricity price was the most sensitive factor. This study reveals that it is important to maintain a regulated electricity price to ensure the sustainability of the WtE plant in Indonesia.

Strategic Implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions for Waste-to-Energy Utilization in Indonesia

“…Furthermore, this regulation compels WtE developers or independent power producers (IPPs) to sign an electrical purchase contract with the State-owned Electricity Company (PLN) as the buyer of electricity. The following regulation mandated the regional governments to cooperate and collaborate with business entities managing WtE facilities (Azis et al, 2021;Government of Indonesia, 2018).…”

“…In addition, waste that ends up in landfills for years will have a sale value. If the government regulates electricity prices and supervises electricity production, even with the help of private sector investment, electricity prices will not soar high (Azis et al, 2021). Moreover, if there are regional regulations that authorize and mobilize the use of WtE with the right legal umbrella, it will have a positive impact on each of these regions, considering that waste has good management, as well as an increase in energy supply, which will have implications for the relatively low selling price of electricity.…”

Evaluating the Potential of Hydrogen Production from Agricultural Waste in Indonesia: A Comparative Techno-economic Analysis

“…Where C n is the net annual cash flow in year n, the values of PoT and IRR are crucial because they are generally used to evaluate the economic feasibility of an industry (Azis et al, 2021).…”

Ironmaking Using Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) as Reducing Agent: A Preliminary Investigation on MSW Decomposition and Ore Reduction Behavior

“…14) The well-dried MSW has a higher heating value (HHV) of up to 21 MJ/kg, potentially similar to sub-bituminous coal. 15) The carbon content in MSW can be promising for reducing agent and carbon source in further steelmaking.…”