An Energy Management Oriented Analysis: Case Study of a Waste to Energy Plant in Lecco, Italy

Abstract: The ISO 50001 standard on energy management systems was released in 2011 with the aim of providing organizations with a standardised guideline for the evaluation and continual improvement of energy performance. Complex structures such as the waste to energy (WTE) sector, which must comply with social, environmental, economic and productivity objectives, can benefit from the development of a compliant energy management system (EnMS). Energy efficiency and energy savings contribute to the mitigation of the heavy cost of such a facility, while the benchmark analysis allows verifying the state of the system and the potential areas for improvement. The energy performance improvements can be valorised on an environmental base, and proper promotion of the process can contribute to the mitigation of social opposition. This thesis reviews the energy performance of a waste to energy facility located in Lecco, Italy, using the information available from the control system already installed in the company. Regression analysis is used to fit linear and polynomial functional forms to the energy consumption data and create the energy baseline for the areas of significant energy use and production with a predictive power of 59 – 92%. The difference among the baseline and the actual energy consumption is proposed as energy performance indicator, in order to appreciate the results of the improvement opportunities, and a set of key performance indicators are evaluated for internal and external benchmarking of the facility. The economic feasibility of a selection of sectorial Best Available Technologies (BATs) and the related energy performance improvement is evaluated, revealing that 2 – 16 M€ can be invested in the system retrofit; the creation of synergies with the facility heating, cooling and electricity demand is also suggested. Lastly, an energy, economic and environmental analysis is suggested as a ranking system for the identified improvement opportunities. The methodology and results of this study are intended to provide a proper energy review for Silea Spa, suggest a review procedure for other WTE facilities willing to develop a compliant EnMS and enrich the literature with a case study on WTE. For the Italian context, which is currently facing difficulties in the modernization of the waste management system (WMS), the ISO 50001 application on WTE facilities offers a unified structure that can be used by the government to map the current status of each facility and develop the legislative framework in accordance to the needs of the WMS, the circular economy and the public opinion.