Waste to Energy Market Size - By Process (Thermal [CHP Incineration, Co-combustion, Thermal gasification, Residual derived fuel plant], Biochemical), By Application (Power Generation, Heating), Forecast, 2025 - 2034

Waste to Energy Market Size

The global waste to energy market was valued at USD 42.4 billion in 2024 and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 6.6% from 2025 to 2034. Increasing urbanization and the surge in municipal solid waste generation will influence the adoption of waste to energy technologies. Growing pressure on landfill capacities and the need for decentralized waste treatment solutions will further stimulate the deployment of energy recovery systems across urban infrastructures.
 

Increasing investments in innovative waste to energy solutions are anticipated to foster market development. In December 2024, Arc Ento Tech secured USD 5 million to establish three waste to energy plants in Sydney, Australia, utilizing biological and mechanical processes to convert landfill waste into energy and industrial fuels. Additionally, this initiative aims to reduce reliance on coking coal and address landfill challenges, thereby contributing to waste to energy market growth.
 

Increasing number of policies to reduce landfill usage and diversion primarily across the countries of Asia and Europe, along with the development of national targets in countries including Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands, among others, will drive investments contributing to the business momentum. Furthermore, governments and corporations are focusing on developing a circular economy, integrating renewable energy portfolios, thereby strengthening the business landscape.
 

The expansion of utility-scale waste to energy facilities to manage municipal waste and generate renewable electricity is anticipated to augment industry growth. In 2024, Uzbekistan announced plans to invest approximately USD 1.3 billion in constructing eight waste to energy plants across 11 regions, aiming to process over 4.7 million metric tons of solid waste annually and generate 2.1 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity by 2027. Moreover, rising investments in large-scale waste conversion plants will stimulate product deployment across the market.
 

The growing need for sustainable waste management, increasing waste generation will stimulate the product demand. Key factors, including modern technological advancements and stringent environmental regulations to reduce emissions, along with growing regional requirements, will stimulate the industry landscape. Furthermore, rising industrial activities, especially in sectors such as manufacturing, are generating more industrial waste, driving the waste to energy market scenario.
 

High tariffs imposed under the Trump administration on imported waste to energy equipment and components, including boilers and turbines, are anticipated to influence the market growth. These trade measures have led to increased capital costs and limited access to advanced technologies, delaying project executions and restraining the pace of infrastructure development, thereby affecting the industry statistics.
 

Waste to Energy Market Trends

• Growing emphasis on sustainable urban growth and landfill saturation due to increasing urbanization will influence the industry growth. In October 2024, the Madurai Corporation of Tamil Nadu, India offered USD 38 million under the CITIIS 2.0 initiative to build a waste to energy facility near the Vellaikal dumpsite. The plant will treat wet waste in the form of pellets to produce electricity. Moreover, these initiatives will help countries achieve clean energy goals as well as energy security goals, thus supporting waste to energy market growth.
   
• Increased adoption of advanced emission reduction technologies, including flue gas cleaning facilities, filtration, and carbon capture equipment, will drive industry growth. Automation and computerized monitoring systems are being integrated into plants to increase efficiency, reduce downtime, and maximize energy output, driving the product demand. The governments in the Asia Pacific and Europe are also encouraging the private sector to invest in waste to energy ventures, thus supplementing business statistics.
   
• The growth in waste to energy plants to manage increasing urban waste is likely to drive market growth. In July 2024, Indore Municipal Corporation, India, inaugurated a USD 24 million waste to energy plant to treat 500 tonnes of waste per day, generating 6 MW of electricity. The initiative reflects the country's emphasis on environmental protection and waste management through energy recovery. Additionally, the setting up of such plants will enable the growth of waste to energy capacities.
   
• Growing emphasis on zero-waste policies by governments and municipalities will be driving the implementation of waste to energy technologies. Pressure to recover energy from non-recyclable waste is becoming part of sustainable waste management systems. In addition, regulatory pressure to reduce landfill use and improve energy efficiency will also be driving the integration of waste to energy solutions into industrial and municipal systems.
   

Waste to Energy Market Analysis

• Based on the process, the industry is segmented into thermal and biochemical categories. The global market for waste to energy was valued at USD 40.7 billion, USD 41.6 billion, and USD 42.4 billion in 2022, 2023, and 2024, respectively.
   
• The biochemical waste to energy segment is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of more than 10% through 2034, fueled by the rising demand for renewable energy sources and the effective management of organic waste. In December 2023, India's Rourkela Municipal Corporation of Odisha commissioned a five-tonne bio-methanation facility that processes five tonnes of organic waste daily to produce 400 units of power and 800 kg organic manure. Moreover, government policies favoring the production of bioenergy will drive industry expansion.
   
• The thermal segment is anticipated to be worth more than 65 billion in 2034, due to the growing adoption of sophisticated incineration plants with combined heat and power technologies. They optimize energy recovery from waste, producing electricity and heat for in-house use, increasing the efficiency and sustainability of the entire process, driving the solution demand. They optimize plant operation, track plant performance, and limit downtime, thereby increasing the application of thermal processes.

• Based on applications, the waste to energy market is segmented into power generation, heating, and others. The power generation segment contributed to a market share of 53.3% in 2024, on account of increasing deployment of waste-fed cogeneration units and grid-balancing facilities. Expanding urban centers with growing solid waste generation and rising electricity peak demand will push the adoption of waste to electricity solutions. Moreover, supportive regulatory mechanisms, including feed-in tariffs and renewable energy credits, will complement the deployment of WtE power plants.
   
• The heating application is projected to grow at a CAGR of more than 4.5% from 2025 to 2034, owing to rising investments in district heating and industrial energy systems. In February 2024, Italy's A2A invested USD 119 million to enhance the efficiency of its Brescia waste to energy plant. This will enhance the plant's efficiency from 84% to 98%, enabling it to provide thermal energy to 12,500 households without increasing the amount of waste processed, Furthermore, the growing adoption of advanced incineration technologies will augment the market landscape.
   

• The U.S. waste to energy market was valued at USD 2.2 billion, USD 2.4 billion, and USD 2.6 billion in 2022, 2023, and 2024, respectively. As of 2024, North America holds a market share of 7.4%, which is expected to improve further by 2034.
   
• Expanding federal grant programs focused on rural biomass conversion will stimulate market growth. For instance, in August 2024, AtkinsRéalis announced a 10-year USD 65 million contract with Miami-Dade County to build the biggest waste to energy plant in the country. It would further incinerate 4,000 tons of garbage daily, and power a turbine to generate electricity and alternative fuels. Additionally, increasing federal support for the development of distributed biomass infrastructure will complement the business development.
   
• The European waste to energy market will grow at a rate of more than 8% through 2034, driven by the EU’s rigorous net-zero emissions targets to shift toward sustainable energy solutions. Additionally, the rising landfill taxes will make the municipalities go green in managing waste, thus supporting the product adoption. Strong public-private partnerships will stimulate innovation and provide financing for technology innovations in incineration, propelling market growth.
   
• The Asia Pacific waste to energy market is projected to hit USD 50 billion by 2034, driven by fast-paced urban growth and increasing municipal solid waste quantities. In June 2023, the Telangana government in India declared five new waste to energy plants to produce 101 MW of power by December 2024, treating 15,000 metric tonnes of waste daily. Moreover, large-scale integration of waste to energy systems into state energy plans will supplement market growth.
   

Waste to Energy Market Share

• The top 5 players, including Reworld, SUEZ, Stellar3, Veolia, and WM Intellectual Property Holdings, hold approximately 40.2% share in the market. These companies employ vertical integration and long-term public-private alliances to consolidate their market position. They enhance operational effectiveness, provide stable feedstock supply, and help cities achieve landfill diversion and sustainability goals by owning the entire value chain from waste collection to energy production.
   
• Industry leaders heavily invest in advanced incineration, gasification, and automatic waste sorting technology to increase the efficiency of the plants and decrease emissions. Such technologies not only guarantee compliance with regulations but also minimize the environmental footprint. It allows them to expand into new markets, being trusted partners for the shift to clean energy and waste management solutions.
   

Waste to Energy Market Companies

• Babcock & Wilcox is actively advancing its waste-to-energy initiatives, including the BrightLoop and ClimateBright projects. These ventures focus on producing net-negative hydrogen from solid fuels, showcasing the company’s commitment to sustainable energy solutions and innovative waste management technologies. In 2024, the company generated revenue of USD 60.3 billion. These projects also align with Babcock & Wilcox's focus on clean energy solutions.
   
• Veolia continues to grow its waste to energy capacity, using its waste management expertise to deliver sustainable energy solutions. The company's annual revenue in 2024 was USD 48.4 billion. It has more than 60 waste to energy facilities around the world that convert non-recyclable waste into renewable energy, mainly through incineration processes that produce electricity and heat.
   

Waste to Energy Industry News:

Eminent players operating in the waste to energy industry are:

• Babcock & Wilcox
• Enerkem
• Everbright Environment
• Hitachi Zosen
• JFE Engineering
• Marubeni
• Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
• Reworld
• SUEZ
• Stellar3
• Veolia
• WM Intellectual Property Holdings
   

In September 2024, the Government of Alberta has put USD 2.04 million into investment by Emissions Reduction Alberta in a USD 6.1 million front-end engineering and design study for the development of Canada's first carbon-capture-ready waste to energy plant on a large industrial scale. The initiative by Varme Energy will fuel municipal solid waste to generate clean electricity while extracting and storing about 185,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually.
 

In August 2024, Archaea Energy, in collaboration with Waste Connections, inaugurated a new renewable natural gas (RNG) facility in Pennsylvania. The company till date has successfully brought six plants online. The new facility can process up to 3,500 standard cubic feet of landfill gas per minute into RNG.
 

This waste to energy market research report includes an in-depth coverage of the industry with estimates & forecast in terms of revenue in “(USD Billion)” from 2021 to 2034, for the following segments:

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Market, By Process

• Thermal
  • CHP incineration
  • Co-combustion
  • Thermal gasification
  • Residual derived fuel plant
• Biochemical

Market, By Application

• Power generation
• Heating
• Others

The above information has been provided for the following regions and countries:

• North America
  • U.S.
  • Canada
• Europe
  • Sweden
  • Denmark
  • Norway
  • Italy
  • Netherlands
• Asia Pacific
  • China
  • India
  • Japan
  • South Korea
  • Indonesia
  • Thailand