Impact Assessment of Utilizing Municipal Solid Waste for Energy Generation: A case study for MSW management plant at Sofa landfill site

In this paper, technical, economic and environmental impacts of utilizing useful Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in the Gaza Strip for energy generation via Waste to Energy (W2E) steam generator as part of a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant are discussed. Being a good biogenic resource with high energy content, the paper also presents a practical solution for MSW treatment featuring a conceptual architectural design of a management plant to be located at Sofa landfill site considering MSW reduction, reuse, recycling and recovery (4Rs). Based on an assumed amount of MSW production of 190kton/year used for electricity generation, it was estimated that the required W2E steam unit size is 15MW. The amount of energy generated from this W2E unit is estimated to be 120GWh/year. Additionally, the reduced amount of Green House Gases (GHG) especially Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is estimated to be in the range of 88kton per year. Approximation of the capital cost of the W2E unit is evaluated at about 2900USD/kW. The Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) for the project is calculated to be about 0.05$/kWh. The capital cost retrieval period from energy sales is estimated to be in the range of 2-3 years.