Saturday, November 8, 2008

Do not waste 'waste'. It is a resource.

MSW can be an important source of green energy for the developed as well as the developing countries. Incinerating one tonne of MSW can contribute to producing 2 MWh of heat and 2/3 MWh of electricity. However, increased rate of waste incineration should not come about at decreased rate of waste recyling. Nonethess, MSW recycling and incineration are compatible in the presence of an effective waste management policy. In developed countries like UK, energy generation from waste is not yet taken seriously although an effective waste management policy exisit. Thus, a lot of MSW is still being landfilled. In developing countries like Nepal, the lack of an effective waste management policy is resulting in a huge amount of MSW being landfilled. Although, the private costs of producing energy from MSW is high, the social benefits of such energy practice is much higher as compared to using coal as an energy source. Thus, MSW is indeed an alternative source of energy with a potential to adress the ongoing climate change and security of supply concerns to some extent.

It was a great pleasure to pursue a joint research on the energy and environmental implications of MSW with Dr. Tooraj Jamasb at the Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge, UK. The abstract from the research findings can be read below:

"The growing stream of municipal solid waste requires a sustainable waste management strategy. Meanwhile, addressing climate change and security of energy supply concerns require increased use of low-carbon and domestic sources of energy. This paper assesses the economic and policy aspects of waste management options focusing on waste to energy (WtE). We conclude that high levels of WtE and recycling are compatible as waste treatment options. We also present a social cost-benefit analysis of waste management scenarios for the UK focusing on specific waste management targets and carbon price. The results indicate that meeting the waste management targets of the EU Directive are socially more cost effective than the current practice. The cost effectiveness improves substantially with higher carbon prices. The findings show that WtE can be an important part of both waste management strategy and renewable energy policy. However, achieving the full potential of WtE requires development of heat delivery networks."

If you are interested to read the whole paper please follow this link:
http://ideas.repec.org/p/cam/camdae/0801.html

Economic Revolution Under Energy Deprivation

While economists around the globe are working on rigorous causality studies between energy consumption and economic growth; the recent government announcement of attaining a double digit growth has raised the eyebrows of several domestic and international policy makers. No doubt, the concept of a “double digit” growth is a sweet surprise for a struggling economy. However, the timing of such an announcement appears to be overtly ambitious and rather spurious given the energy crisis the country is evolved in. Like the governments of the past, it also exposes the newly formed government’s negligence in understanding that energy security is an urgent necessity to move the economy in a forward gear.

The following link will guide you to the full version of this article:
http://telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=4188