Technical-economic analysis of a municipal solid waste energy recovery facility in Spain: A case study

Abstract

The aim of this work is to carry out a technical-economic analysis of an energy recovery facility (ERF) located in Sant Adrià de Besòs, Barcelona, Spain through a methodology based on social Cost-Benefit analysis, which considers the private impacts and externalities (social and environmental impacts) to determine the Total Benefit (the difference between revenues and costs) and decide if it is both operationally and economically profitable. The ERF plays an important role in Barcelona and its environs in generating energy, preventing the residual waste from being sent to landfills and therefore helping to comply with the objectives fixed by the European Commission. The key point of this work is the identification, frequency, quantification and monetary valuation of the impacts generated by the ERF, such as infrastructure costs, sale of energy, CO2 emissions, the effects on public health, among others; providing a guide to future researchers and policymakers interested in the economic valuation of MSW management systems. Applying the methodology, it can be seen that the facility is both operationally (BP = 9.86 €/ton) and economically (BT = 23.97 €/ton) profitable. The results show that the ERF has high private costs, however, due to its high revenues from the sale of energy and services, the facility is operationally profitable, but with a low private benefit per ton treated. Externalities play an important role since they increase the Total Benefit and make the ERF more economic reliable.