Abstract
The waste management sector significantly contributes to emissions of ambient air pollutants and greenhouse gases, especially in sanitary landfills. In this regard, Taiwan is moving toward a circular economy society via resource recycling and waste-to-power (WTP) in the waste management. In the past decade, the recycling rate of general waste (including recyclable waste, kitchen waste, and bulk waste) increased from 40.97% in 2008 to 60.22% in 2017. On the other hand, 24 large-scale waste incineration plants gained about 2.5 TW-h of net electricity generation, based on 6.25 million metric tons of waste incinerated in 2017. The objectives of this paper are to update the status of waste generation and its WTP in Taiwan. Based on these updated data, the preliminary benefit analysis of WTP showed annual benefits of equivalent electricity charge of around $US 3.3 × 108 (using the feed-in-tariff rate 3.8945 NTD$/kW-h; 1 $US ≈ 30 NTD$) and equivalent CO2 mitigation of about 1.4 million metric tons (using the electricity emissions factor 0.55 kg CO2 equivalent/kW-h). In order to gain environmental, energy, and economic benefits, the regulatory and technological measures for promoting WTP are briefly summarized to create another low-carbon society in Taiwan.
Highlights
Taiwan, a high population density island with a tropical/subtropical climate, is located in East Asia
Its dependence on imported energy ranged from 97% to 98% in the past two decades
One belongs to indigenous energy, which contributed 3.0 million kiloliters of oil equivalent (KLOEs) or 2.02%
Summary
A high population density (i.e., about 650 people per km2 ) island with a tropical/subtropical climate, is located in East Asia. It is a country with a lack of natural resources. Its dependence on imported energy ranged from 97% to 98% in the past two decades. In 2017, the primary energy supply in Taiwan amounted totally to 146.6 million kiloliters of oil equivalent (KLOEs), showing a slight decrease of 0.03% in 2016 [1]. The energy supply can be divided into two categories. One belongs to indigenous energy, which contributed 3.0 million KLOEs or 2.02%
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