‘High costs hold back waste-to-energy projects’

MANILA, Philippines — Waste-to-energy (WTE) technology offers huge potential to bolster the country’s power supply, but high costs keep it from gaining momentum, according to the Makati Business Club.

MBC said in a recent policy note that cost continues to be a “key barrier”to WTE adoption, as landfill disposal is still the “cheaper option” for many local government units.

“One reason is that the fees paid to dump waste often do not reflect the full cost over time,” the business group said.

These fees, MBC noted, often account only for the immediate expense, excluding costs for long-distance waste transport, landfill management and environmental mitigation.

Considered a renewable energy (RE) source, a WTE facility produces usable heat, electricity or fuel by burning non-recyclable waste materials.

“Much of the cost of WTE comes from handling and processing the waste itself. For these projects to be financially viable, the electricity they generate must also be sold at fair and predictable prices,” MBC said.

“Recognizing WTE as part of the country’s energy infrastructure, and not only as a waste disposal method, is key to improving project feasibility,” it said.

The Department of Energy is poised to conduct the sixth green energy auction (GEA) round dedicated to WTE and biomass technologies in the fourth quarter of the year.

The upcoming auction is expected to pave the way for more WTE projects, accelerating the country’s shift toward sustainable energy solutions.

“Recent policy updates also clarified that WTE may be eligible for incentives under the RE Law, even if the waste used is not primarily organic,” MBC said.

GEA aims to trigger RE investments and support the government’s target of expanding the share of renewables in the energy mix to 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040 from the current 22 percent.