A new report highlights the huge potential of adding carbon capture and storage to existing facilities responsible for producing electricity from garbage.
According to management consultancy Baringa, Britain’s energy-from-waste sector could deliver 10million tonnes of durable carbon removals by 2040. The sector currently creates around 7million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually, meaning it is theoretically possible to reach carbon negative status — where more of the greenhouse has is removed than created — within the next decade.
This would equate to a drop in carbon output of more than 70%under an ‘accelerated deployment scenario’. However, failure to deploy effective waste-to-energy carbon capture and storage [WECCS] would leave Britain’s hopes of a net zero grid hamstrung for the foreseeable future. By rolling out the technology, it would be possible to sequester vast amounts of carbon stored in the un-recyclable waste, around 50% of which is biogenic — food, plants and soiled paper — which has already absorbed CO2 from the atmosphere.
You can read the full report here.
‘Baringa’s report shines a light on how the UK can respond to the Climate Change Committee’s call to accelerate carbon removals on the path to net zero,’ said Mike Maudsley, CEO of enfinium, one of the UK’s leading energy-from-waste operators. ‘Even if recycling targets are met, the UK will still generate over 17 million tonnes of unrecyclable waste each year. Scaling up WECCS would turn that challenge into an opportunity, harnessing waste to remove carbon from the atmosphere and helping to realise the UK’s journey to net zero.’
The UK Government is now conducting a review into scaling engineered carbon removes, led by Dr Alan Whitehead CBE. It is hoped this will unlock further potential in energy-from-waste, which already contributes to the country’s gross carbon emissions by diverting waste from landfill and supporting a more circular economic model. In order to meet legally binding climate targets, Downing Street must realise more than 35million tonnes of carbon removes per year by 2050.
‘We’re delighted to share our analysis on realising the carbon-negative opportunity in the energy from waste sector,’ said Chris Thackeray, Director and Global CCS Lead, Baringa. ‘By deploying carbon capture and storage technology at scale on energy from waste facilities, the sector could make a sizeable contribution to UK emissions reductions. Because of the carbon dioxide removal potential of the proportion of biogenic waste, it could be possible for the sector to be carbon negative by 2040. With the right policies, commercial models and investment we can realise the carbon-negative opportunity of EfW and put the net in net zero.’
Image: enfinium
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