Waste To Energy (WTE) Market Share, Size & Trend Analysis Report By Technology (Thermal (Incineration, Gasification, Pyrolysis), Biological) And Segment Forecasts, 2014 - 2024

Industry Insights

The global waste to energy (WTE) market size was USD 25.0 billion in 2015 and is expected to witness significant growth over the forecast period. Increasing demand for renewable sources is anticipated to propel the global waste to energy market over the forecast period. A shift in focus towards substitutes such as coal with renewable resources to reduce carbon content is also projected to play a vital role in shaping the industry.

Increasing domestic and industrial waste has prompted governments across various regions to promote energy generation from waste. Favorable government regulations in the form of tax benefits and financial incentives have had a positive influence on the growth. Growing environmental concerns for the use of non-renewable resources is expected to further complement the growth.

By 2015, the U.S. had around 71 WTE plants which generated electricity across 20 states in the country, and had a cumulative installed capacity of 2.3 GW. WTE plants in 2015 accounted for around 0.4% of aggregate U.S. installed power capacity. Rise in environmental concerns and reliable solution of waste disposal would result to enhance WTE plants in the U.S. in the future.

The growth of recycling industry across various developed regions such as U.S., Germany, The Netherlands and Japan is expected to drive the WTE projects in the near future. Lack of awareness regarding WTE benefits particularly in developing economies of Central & North Africa is expected to inhibit the growth. Incineration is a major technology deployed across WTE plants. Biological technologies are expected to gain significant market share over the forecast period.

Technological advancements in energy generation to improve the efficiency of yield from waste is expected to act favorably for industry players. Globally, the companies have adopted WTE techniques to reduce their waste produced and parallelly generate captive energy. Methane gas emission from landfills due to waste decomposition is a key concern for using landfilling as a mean of waste management. Increasing landfilling prices is anticipated to augment the growth.

Technology Insights

The thermal segment accounted for the largest share in 2015 and was valued at USD 1,772.8 million in 2015. Thermal technology is a widely used form of generation through waste. It is relatively a simple process coupled with ease of operations. It is a major factor driving the thermal WTE technology growth. Incineration thermal technology is expected to have a significant share over the coming years.

Health concerns due to emission of flue gasses via thermal WTE technology has been a major challenge for the industry over the recent past. Biological technologies are used for anaerobic decomposition of solid waste to generate energy. Biological technologies are expected to witness significant growth over the forecast period owing to its potential in developing markets. 

Biogas as a vehicle fuel aids to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector in between 60% to 80% as compared to gasoline. Rise in environmental concerns will result to increase in demand for biogas for vehicle fuel which is anticipated to augment market further for biological segment over the coming years.

Regional Insights

Europe WTE market led the global industry in 2015. The region is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.2% over the forecast period. Stringent regulations to minimize the industrial waste is expected to boost the growth in the region. Countries such as Germany, Austria and Netherlands have adopted WTE technologies to utilize industrial waste.

Asia Pacific is projected to account for the second largest share of the market. China and India carry a huge potential for growth owing to increasing industrial and residential waste. Rapid industrialization coupled with growing importance for renewable energy generation is expected to drive the regional growth over the forecast period.

Rise in environmental concerns and emission levels in APAC countries would result to implementation of favorable policies and government regulations in major APAC countries such as China, Japan, and India. This factor is expected drive the market demand further over the coming years.

Waste To Energy Market Share Insights

The leading companies operating in the global WTE market are involved in plant facilities and technological developments to increase the waste management across various nations. C&G Environmental Protection Holdings Ltd.and Waste Management Inc., is involved in investing plant facilities offering waste management solution.

Few companies are into vertical integration in order to strengthen the services. The companies are involved in expansion of their facilities to increase their waste solution capabilities. Key players operating in this industry include Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC, Covanta Energy Corp., Foster Wheeler A.G., Constructions Industrielles de la Mediterranee., Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc.,and Xcel Energy Inc.

Companies in the market are looking at merger and acquisition to enhance its assets and portfolio further. For instance, Waste Management, Inc. in January 2016 acquired some of the operational and business assets of Southern Waste Systems present in Southern Florida. The acquired assets included equipment for solid waste collection, processing and for transfer operations.

Report Scope

Segments covered in the report

This report forecasts revenue and revenue growth at global, regional & country levels and provides an analysis on the industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2014 to 2024. For this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global waste to energy market on the basis of technology and region.

• Technology Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2014 - 2024)

  • Thermal

    • Incineration

    • Pyrolysis

    • Gasification

  • Biological

• Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2014 - 2025)

  • North America

    • U.S.

    • Canada

    • Mexico

  •  Europe

    • UK

    • Germany

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • Japan

    • India

  • Central & South America

  • Middle East & Africa