A new study by Isometric, published together with the Coalition for Negative Emissions, explores the potential of waste-to-energy facilities equipped with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to become a significant source of carbon removal credits in the UK.
The research, conducted with a panel of experts from leading waste management and energy companies, as well as observers from the UK Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero, examines how this approach could provide substantial, long-lasting carbon removal.
Waste-to-energy plants incinerate non-recyclable refuse to generate electricity and warmth. Integrating CCS into these facilities allows the resulting carbon dioxide emissions to be captured and permanently sequestered.
A key advantage is the capture of biogenic carbon dioxide, which would otherwise be emitted into the atmosphere through decomposition.
With numerous waste-to-energy plants already operating across the UK, this method offers a considerable opportunity to expand carbon removal efforts.
The report from Isometric details the obstacles and necessary conditions for generating high-quality carbon removal credits from these combined facilities.
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It emphasizes the importance of a robust system for monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) to ensure the credibility of such projects. Specific MRV challenges addressed in the paper include:
- Accurately measuring stored CO2 when transport and storage systems are shared, making traditional point-of-injection measurement difficult.
- Establishing a baseline for biogenic feedstock carbon dioxide storage, given the UK’s already stringent waste management regulations.
- Fairly allocating greenhouse gas emissions from mixed biogenic and fossil carbon dioxide streams, adhering to Emissions Trading Scheme rules while maintaining practical operations.
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- Minimizing and properly accounting for any potential carbon leakage.
- Applying principles of sustainable feedstock procurement, while taking into account existing waste management payment systems.
- Meeting financial additionality criteria, considering market factors such as gate fees and involvement in government support schemes.
The study concludes that waste-to-energy with CCS offers a promising pathway for generating high-quality, durable carbon dioxide removal credits. It demonstrates that with a well-defined MRV framework, these facilities can reliably produce credible carbon removal offsets.
The full research paper, titled “Energy-from-Waste as a carbon removal pathway in the United Kingdom,” is available for download.
