The Confederation of European Waste to Energy Plants (CEWEP) has welcomed the R1 Guidelines recently published by the European Commission’s DG Environment.

The Guidelines clarify the calculation method for the energy efficiency (R1) formula set out in the Waste Framework Directive (WFD) 2008/98/EC. They will help EU Member States apply the formula in a harmonised way, allowing for more legal and planning security and a level playing field within the Waste to Energy (WtE) sector across Europe.

Ella Stengler CEWEP’s Managing Director said: “The aim of the energy efficiency criterion in the WFD - to provide incentives to WtE plant operators for improvement of energy efficiency, thus saving fossil fuels and CO2 emissions - is already being achieved as many WtE plants not yet reaching the energy efficiency threshold are making considerable efforts to improve their energy efficiency.”

The R1 formula provides legal clarity on when a WtE plant can be considered as an Energy Recovery operation rather than a disposal operation. This puts efficient WtE plants higher up the waste hierarchy than landfilling (disposal operation) - which is of utmost importance in order to divert waste from landfills.

Recycling still has clear priority over Energy Recovery in WtE plants. However, waste that is not of good enough quality for recycling should be taken by WtE plants - where it is transformed into valuable local energy, providing homes and industry with electricity, heating, cooling and process steam.

It is important to note that WtE plants not achieving the ambitious R1 energy efficiency criteria, and which are therefore classified as ‘waste disposal’, are still plants that treat waste in an environmentally sound way, complying with the strict emission limit values set in the Waste Incineration Directive (now: Industrial Emissions Directive).

These plants also recover as much energy as possible from the waste, just not sufficient to be classified as ‘energy recovery’ and this is mostly not the fault of the plants, but due to local conditions. Some plants produce electricity only if there are no customers and infrastructure for heat supply. This is due to a lower heat demand, e.g. in Southern Europe, and a lack of infrastructure for district heat/cooling.

It is therefore of utmost importance that local planning develops district heating and cooling infrastructure to accommodate the development of high-efficiency cogeneration, of WtE and other renewable energy sources.

In 2010 WtE plants supplied about 100 billion kWh of sustainable energy in Europe. By 2020 this amount will grow to at least 130 billion kWh and potentially to 196 billion kWh for EU 27 - enough to supply 45 million inhabitants with electricity and 24 million inhabitants with heat.

This potential 196 billion kWh could be possible if existing and further ambitious European legislation is implemented, i.e. diverting more waste from landfill, achieving high recycling rates and sending the remaining waste to efficient WtE plants rather than landfilling it.

Ella Stengler added: “So, there is still a lot to do. But the incentives set in the WFD to encourage innovation and improve energy efficiency in WtE plants is an important step forwards.”

“Half of the energy produced by WtE plants is renewable and it is a cost-effective and locally available alternative energy option, helping to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, saving millions of tonnes of CO2 emissions and contributing to security of energy supply,” she concludes.

A copy of the guidelines can be downloaded here.

Ella Stengler’s feature article covering the R1 formula in the November/December 2010 edition of Waste Management World can be read here.