IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/eneeco/v105y2022ics0140988321005636.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Burn or let them bury? The net social cost of producing district heating from imported waste

Author

Listed:
  • Broberg, Thomas
  • Dijkgraaf, Elbert
  • Meens-Eriksson, Sef

Abstract

In this study, a net social cost framework is applied to provide insights on policy issues relating to the cross-border trade in waste fuel. We estimate the net social cost of using imported waste fuel in a highly efficient combined heat and power plant (CHP) in a cold climate by considering both private costs and benefits as well as external costs related to energy production, alternative waste management and fuel transport. We conclude that using imported waste fuel is beneficial from a societal perspective compared to using biofuel, given the wide range of assumptions regarding technical, economic and environmental characteristics. The net social cost is mainly determined by fuel cost advantages and the external cost of greenhouse gas emissions. External costs associated with transports only marginally impact the net social cost of waste imports for incineration. The results are robust to variation in the excess heat utilisation rate, which implies that importing waste for incineration would also be beneficial in countries with warmer climates where district heating networks already exist.

Suggested Citation

  • Broberg, Thomas & Dijkgraaf, Elbert & Meens-Eriksson, Sef, 2022. "Burn or let them bury? The net social cost of producing district heating from imported waste," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:105:y:2022:i:c:s0140988321005636
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2021.105713
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140988321005636
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eneco.2021.105713?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Harrison Fell, 2010. "EU-ETS and Nordic Electricity: A CVAR Analysis," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 2), pages 1-26.
    2. Richard S J Tol, 2018. "The Economic Impacts of Climate Change," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 12(1), pages 4-25.
    3. Kinnaman, Thomas C., 2014. "Determining the socially optimal recycling rate," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 5-10.
    4. Kinnaman, Thomas C., 2016. "Understanding the Economics of Waste: Drivers, Policies, and External Costs," International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, now publishers, vol. 8(3-4), pages 281-320, June.
    5. Kinnaman, Thomas C. & Shinkuma, Takayoshi & Yamamoto, Masashi, 2014. "The socially optimal recycling rate: Evidence from Japan," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 54-70.
    6. Ola Eriksson & Göran Finnveden, 2017. "Energy Recovery from Waste Incineration—The Importance of Technology Data and System Boundaries on CO 2 Emissions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-18, April.
    7. Dijkgraaf, Elbert & Vollebergh, Herman R.J., 2004. "Burn or bury? A social cost comparison of final waste disposal methods," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(3-4), pages 233-247, October.
    8. Eriksson, Ola & Finnveden, Goran & Ekvall, Tomas & Bjorklund, Anna, 2007. "Life cycle assessment of fuels for district heating: A comparison of waste incineration, biomass- and natural gas combustion," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 1346-1362, February.
    9. Sterner, Thomas & Hoglund Isaksson, Lena, 2006. "Refunded emission payments theory, distribution of costs, and Swedish experience of NOx abatement," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(1), pages 93-106, April.
    10. Fahlén, E. & Ahlgren, E.O., 2010. "Accounting for external costs in a study of a Swedish district-heating system - An assessment of environmental policies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(9), pages 4909-4920, September.
    11. Persson, Urban & Münster, Marie, 2016. "Current and future prospects for heat recovery from waste in European district heating systems: A literature and data review," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 116-128.
    12. Foster, William & Azimov, Ulugbek & Gauthier-Maradei, Paola & Molano, Liliana Castro & Combrinck, Madeleine & Munoz, Jose & Esteves, Jaime Jaimes & Patino, Luis, 2021. "Waste-to-energy conversion technologies in the UK: Processes and barriers – A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    13. Miranda, Marie Lynn & Hale, Brack, 2001. "Protecting the forest from the trees: the social costs of energy production in Sweden," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 26(9), pages 869-889.
    14. Gradus, Raymond H.J.M. & Nillesen, Paul H.L. & Dijkgraaf, Elbert & van Koppen, Rick J., 2017. "A Cost-effectiveness Analysis for Incineration or Recycling of Dutch Household Plastic Waste," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 22-28.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Shi, Yi & Huang, Yidan & Xu, Jiuping, 2024. "A clean optimization approach for sustainable waste-to-energy using integrated technology," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    2. Anna Hörbe Emanuelsson & Filip Johnsson, 2023. "The Cost to Consumers of Carbon Capture and Storage—A Product Value Chain Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-23, October.
    3. Song, Jinbo & Nie, Rong & Yuan, Hehui & Gao, Jingxin, 2023. "Does the renovation of waste-to-energy incineration plants attenuate the housing price gradient? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in Shenzhen, China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    4. Marzi, Emanuela & Morini, Mirko & Saletti, Costanza & Vouros, Stavros & Zaccaria, Valentina & Kyprianidis, Konstantinos & Gambarotta, Agostino, 2023. "Power-to-Gas for energy system flexibility under uncertainty in demand, production and price," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 284(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yamamoto, Masashi & Kinnaman, Thomas C., 2022. "Is incineration repressing recycling?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    2. Thomas C. Kinnaman & Masashi Yamamoto, 2023. "Has Incineration Replaced Recycling? Evidence from OECD Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-12, February.
    3. Karlsson, Johan & Brunzell, Lena & Venkatesh, G., 2018. "Material-flow analysis, energy analysis, and partial environmental-LCA of a district-heating combined heat and power plant in Sweden," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 31-40.
    4. Ishimura, Yuichi, 2022. "The effects of the containers and packaging recycling law on the domestic recycling of plastic waste: Evidence from Japan," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    5. Ali Mohammadi & G. Venkatesh & Maria Sandberg & Samieh Eskandari & Stephen Joseph & Karin Granström, 2020. "A Comprehensive Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of the Use of Hydrochar Pellets in Combined Heat and Power Plants," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-15, October.
    6. S. Ferreira & M. Cabral & N.F. da Cruz & P. Simões & R.C. Marques, 2017. "The costs and benefits of packaging waste management systems in Europe: the perspective of local authorities," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 60(5), pages 773-791, May.
    7. Münster, Marie & Meibom, Peter, 2011. "Optimization of use of waste in the future energy system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 1612-1622.
    8. Laura Levaggi & Rosella Levaggi & Carmen Marchiori & Carmine Trecroci, 2020. "Waste-to-Energy in the EU: The Effects of Plant Ownership, Waste Mobility, and Decentralization on Environmental Outcomes and Welfare," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-12, July.
    9. Ola Eriksson & Göran Finnveden, 2017. "Energy Recovery from Waste Incineration—The Importance of Technology Data and System Boundaries on CO 2 Emissions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-18, April.
    10. Shteryo Nozharov, 2018. "The Institutional Economics of Collective Waste Recovery Systems: an Empirical Investigation," Economic Studies journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 5, pages 172-180.
    11. Elbert Dijkgraaf & Raymond Gradus, 2020. "Post-collection Separation of Plastic Waste: Better for the Environment and Lower Collection Costs?," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 77(1), pages 127-142, September.
    12. Camille Jeandaux & Jean-Baptiste Videau & Anne Prieur-Vernat, 2021. "Life Cycle Assessment of District Heating Systems in Europe: Case Study and Recommendations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-32, October.
    13. Daisuke Ichinose, 2024. "Landfill Scarcity and the Cost of Waste Disposal," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 87(3), pages 629-653, March.
    14. Tatoutchoup, Francis Didier, 2016. "Optimal rate of paper recycling," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 264-269.
    15. Joaquín Bernal-Ramírez & Jair Ojeda-Joya & Camila Agudelo-Rivera & Felipe Clavijo-Ramírez & Carolina Durana-Ángel & Clark Granger-Castaño & Daniel Osorio-Rodríguez & Daniel Parra-Amado & José Pulido &, 2022. "Impacto macroeconómico del cambio climático en Colombia," Revista ESPE - Ensayos sobre Política Económica, Banco de la Republica de Colombia, issue 102, pages 1-62, July.
    16. Qiao, Sen & Guo, Zi Xin & Tao, Zhang & Ren, Zheng Yu, 2023. "Analyzing the network structure of risk transmission among renewable, non-renewable energy and carbon markets," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 209(C), pages 206-217.
    17. Alessandro Moro, 2021. "Can capital controls promote green investments in developing countries?," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 1348, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    18. Söderholm, Patrik & Pettersson, Fredrik, 2008. "Climate policy and the social cost of power generation: Impacts of the Swedish national emissions target," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 4154-4158, November.
    19. Shirzad, Mohammad & Kazemi Shariat Panahi, Hamed & Dashti, Behrouz B. & Rajaeifar, Mohammad Ali & Aghbashlo, Mortaza & Tabatabaei, Meisam, 2019. "A comprehensive review on electricity generation and GHG emission reduction potentials through anaerobic digestion of agricultural and livestock/slaughterhouse wastes in Iran," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 571-594.
    20. Martin Henseler & Ingmar Schumacher, 2019. "The impact of weather on economic growth and its production factors," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 154(3), pages 417-433, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Net social cost analysis; District heating; Externalities; Incineration; Trade; Waste;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q48 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Government Policy
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:105:y:2022:i:c:s0140988321005636. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/eneco .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.