Techno-economic analysis of waste-to-energy with solar hybrid: A case study from Kumasi, Ghana

Abstract

The rapid growth in global energy demand in recent years has made global leaders think more about sustainability in the energy sector. Waste-to-energy (WTE) and solar energy are emerging areas in the energy sustainability discourse since terrestrial sustainability is of great concern. The study uses economic indices to evaluate the feasibility of WTE and solar plants at Oti landfill in Kumasi, Ghana, with the core objective of sustainable waste management through electricity production. Three scenarios were considered, (i) waste-to-energy plant alone, (ii) solar PV plant alone and (iii) combination of (i) and (ii) – hybrid. The Oti landfill receives a total volume of 891,000 tons per year of solid waste, which can be used to generate 379 GWh of electricity per year and has the potential to generate 85 GWh of electricity per year from solar with the assumption that one-half of the land surface area used waste to electricity and the other one-half is used for solar PV electricity. The study shows that all three scenarios are worth investing in, but the best investment option is the solar PV plant alone with NPV of mGHs 324.79, DPP of 4 years, IRR of 44% and DPI of 2.7. The WTE alone had NPV, IRR, DPI and DPP of mGHs 1122.11, 16%, 0.47 and 15.2 years, respectively. The WTE and solar PV composite had NPV of mGHs1445.9, IRR of 17%, DPI of 2.02 and the project initial cost recovery of 14.2 years.