Abstract
•This research evaluates the potential contribution of WTE to Saudi power demand.•Two scenarios were developed: Mass Burn and Mass Burn with recycling to year 2032.•Mass Burn will generate 2073 Megawatts (MW) about 1.73% of 2032 peak power demand.•Mass Burn with recycling will generate 166MW about 0.14% of 2032 peak power demand.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is the largest crude oil producer in the world and possesses the largest oil reserves. The crude oil revenue has resulted in a massive socio-economic development over the last four decades. This situation has resulted in rapid growth of the country’s electricity demand and municipal solid waste (MSW) generation. The KSA is proposing an impressive plan towards renewable energy utilization that includes waste-to-energy (WTE) facilities. This research assesses the potential contribution of WTE facilities to total Saudi peak power demand up to the year 2032 based on two scenarios: Mass Burn and Mass Burn with recycling for the entire country and for six major cities in the KSA. The analysis shows a potential to produce about 2073 Megawatts (MW) based on a Mass Burn scenario and about 166MW based on Mass Burn with recycling scenario. These values amount to about 1.73% and 0.14% of the projected 2032 peak electricity demand of 120Gigawatt. The forecasted results of each city from the two scenarios can be used to design future WTE facilities in the main cities of Saudi Arabia. Further investigations are recommended to evaluate the two scenarios based on financial, social, technical, and environmental criteria.