Assessment of Waste to Energy Technology in Indonesia: A Techno-economical Perspective on a 1000 ton/day Scenario
Corresponding email: fidelis.simanjuntak@prasetiyamulya.ac.id
Published at : 25 Nov 2019
Volume : IJtech
Vol 10, No 6 (2019)
DOI : https://doi.org/10.14716/ijtech.v10i6.3607
Prabowo, B., Stefanus Hubertson Simanjuntak, F., Saldi, Z.S., Samyudia, Y., Widjojo, I.J., 2019. Assessment of Waste to Energy Technology in Indonesia: A Techno-economical Perspective on a 1000 ton/day Scenario. International Journal of Technology. Volume 10(6), pp. 1228-1234
| Bayu Prabowo | Research and Technology Center, PT. Pertamina (Persero), Jakarta 12950, Indonesia |
| Fidelis Stefanus Hubertson Simanjuntak | School of Applied Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, Universitas Prasetiya Mulya, Tangerang, Banten 15339, Indonesia |
| Zaki S. Saldi | School of Applied Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, Universitas Prasetiya Mulya, Tangerang, Banten 15339, Indonesia |
| Yudi Samyudia | School of Applied Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, Universitas Prasetiya Mulya |
| Ida Juda Widjojo | School of Business and Economics, Universitas Prasetiya Mulya, Tangerang, Banten 15339, Indonesia |
A techno-economic
assessment of the implementation of waste to energy (WTE) technology in
Indonesia was performed by simulating the business model of a 1000 ton-per-day
WTE facility that satisfied a set of economic parameters. Two types of
municipal solid waste (MSW) quality were selected for the case study: (1) Low
calorific value MSW, 6860 KJ/Kg-as received, taken from the municipal temporary
waste collection station in South Tangerang city; and (2) High calorific value
MSW, 8970 MJ/kg-as received, taken from a temporary waste collection point in a
residential apartment in Jakarta city. For the low calorific value MSW, the
base pricing set of IDR 500,000/tons for the tipping fee and IDR 1500/kwh as
the electricity selling price was not economically feasible as it resulted in a
negative Net Present Value (NPV), a lower Internal Rate of Return (IRR) than
the applied Discount Rate (13%), and a Payback Period (PP) of over five years.
It is compulsory to set pricing of either IDR 600,000/tons for the tipping fee
or IDR 1750 as the electricity price. In the case of the high calorific value
MSW, the base pricing set could be economically feasible as it resulted in an
NPV, IRR, and PP of IDR 209.7 billion, 16.38%, and 4.8 years, respectively.
Moreover, a reduction in the pricing to either IDR 400,000/tons for the tipping
fee or IDR 1350 for electricity may still satisfy the minimum limits of the
parameters sets. The results of this study are expected to provide a clearer
picture of both the potential and challenges of bringing WTE technology to
commercial application, especially in Indonesia.
Assessment; Economic; Incinerator; Municipal solid waste; Waste to energy
An increase in human living standards leads
not only to greater municipal solid waste (MSW) generated, but also to a shift
in its composition toward complex and non-naturally degrading materials such as
plastic, glass, metal, and chemical waste. A waste management system capable of
handling such large amounts and complex types of waste is therefore important
to support the progression of a society. Meanwhile, traditional waste
management systems that rely on natural decomposition, e.g., landfill, should
eventually be replaced. Inappropriate handling of MSW will lead to health
problems and a deterioration of the environment quality. Conversely, a better
MSW management system will not only help in solving health and environmental
problems but will also generate economic benefits.
Indonesia, with the world’s fourth-largest population (260 million
people in 2017) faces a state of emergency with regard to its municipal waste
problem. About 64 million tons of MSW are produced annually in Indonesia, more
than two-thirds of which is disposed of in landfill sites (Rawlins et al.,
2014). The remainder is either composted, open-burned, or left completely
unmanaged. Bantargebang, as the main disposal site for MSW from the capital
city of Jakarta, accepts 6,561.99 tons/day and is predicted to be overcapacity
in 2021 (Dinas Lingkungan Hidup DKI Jakarta, 2019). Various methods can be used
to convert waste into energy, such as anaerobic digestion for biogas production
(Ariyanto et al., 2017) and pyrolysis of waste rubber tires for fuel oil production
(Yang, 2016). Waste can also be converted into valuable products, such as
compost materials (Hartono et al., 2015).
To accelerate the application of more sustainable waste management,
Presidential Decree no.35 regarding the development of waste to energy (WTE)
facilities was announced in 2018 (Presidential Decree of the Republic of
Indonesia, 2018). In this regulation, 12 big cities, including Jakarta,
Bandung, Surabaya, Makassar, and Bali, are expected to immediately establish
environmentally friendly WTE facilities. The regulation also established the
cost of a feed-in tariff at USD 13.35 cents and a subsidy from the state budget
(APBN) of IDR 500,000 per ton of waste toward the waste management fee (tipping
fee).
Currently, there are no commercial WTE facilities in operation in
Indonesia, with the exception of a 100 ton/day pilot project WTE facility in
Bantargebang (Pebrianto, 2019) and the development of a 2,200 ton/day
incinerator in Sunter as the country’s first commercial WTE plant (Dinas Lingkungan
Hidup DKI Jakarta, 2018). The establishment of a WTE facility in Indonesia has
been held back by various challenges. Of these, economic challenges usually
relate to an inadequate electricity feed-in tariff and the tipping fee.
Moreover, the characteristics of Indonesia’s waste, which has a high moisture
content of up to 60%, may lead to the requirement for an additional
pre-treatment facility, thus further raising the costs. The existence of
illegal dumpsites as a cheap option for waste disposal (Wisnubro, 2019) serves
to make WTE technologies unattractive by comparison. There are also social
challenges in the form of opposition from a public concerned about the
potential negative impacts of polluting emissions on their health and
environment. Such opposition can result in uncertainty around the construction
approval process.
In this study, a
techno-economic assessment of the implementation of WTE technology in Indonesia
was performed by simulating the business model of a 1000 ton-per-day WTE
facility. The economic performance of the WTE plant with feeds of low calorific
value MSW and high calorific value MSW was analyzed. Moreover, the need to
adjust the variables in order to make the technology economically feasible was
investigated. The results of this study are expected to provide a clearer
picture of both the potential and challenges of bringing WTE technologies to
commercial application, especially in Indonesia.
A techno-economic assessment of the 1000 ton-per-day WTE facility was
conducted with low calorific value MSW, 6860 KJ/Kg-as received, and high
calorific value MSW, 8970 MJ/kg-as received. For the low calorific value MSW,
the base pricing set of IDR 500,000/tons for the tipping fee and IDR 1500/kwh
for the electricity tariff was not economically feasible as it resulted in a
negative NPV, a lower IRR than the applied discount rate (13%), and a PP of
over five years. A pricing adjustment to either a tipping fee of IDR
600,000/tons or an electricity price of IDR 1750 is thus essential. With regard
to the high calorific value MSW, the base pricing set could be economically
feasible as it produced an NPV, IRR, and PP of IDR 209.7 billion, 16.38%, and
4.8 years, respectively. Moreover, a reduction in the pricing to either IDR
400,000/tons for the tipping fee or IDR 1350 for electricity may still satisfy
the minimum limit of the parameter set. However, a big challenge lies in
maintaining the calorific value of MSW by ensuring the plastic component
remains in the waste matrix until it is fed to the WTE plant. These results
provide a clearer picture of both the potential and challenges involved in
commercially applying WTE technology, especially in Indonesia.
The authors gratefully acknowledge the
Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher
Education of the Republic of Indonesia
for its research grant award through PTUPT, Grant No. 493/UN2.R3.1/HKP05.00/2018.
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