UK to Build 41 New Waste-to-Energy Plants as Chinese Firms Such as China Tianying and Sanfeng Environment Expand Their Presence in the European Market
Recently, several British media outlets reported that the UK government has approved the construction of 41 new municipal and commercial waste-to-energy incinerators to enhance waste treatment capacity. Over the next two years, an additional 4 to 5 million tons of incineration capacity will be put into operation. By 2030, the total treatment capacity of the UK’s waste-to-energy plants will reach 22.7 million tons.
At present, the UK has 52 incinerators with a total treatment capacity of 22 million tons, accounting for 49% of the country’s waste generation. The remaining 51% is disposed of through landfilling. In addition, the UK exports around 3 million tons of waste each year to waste-to-energy plants in Europe, particularly in Northern European countries such as Sweden and Denmark.Domestic landfills in the UK have been gradually reaching capacity, while the volume of waste continues to increase. In 2023, UK households generated a total of 25.9 million tons of waste, a 1% increase compared with 2022. Meanwhile, the number of landfills has continued to decline, and the remaining storage capacity has dropped from 405 million cubic meters in 2018 to 345 million cubic meters at present.At the same time, the landfill tax levied on residents and waste-generating enterprises to cover landfill costs has surged sharply. The tax increased from £7 per ton in 1999 to £48 per ton in 2010, and has now risen to £102 per ton. Therefore, accelerating the construction of waste-to-energy incineration plants has become an urgent priority for the current UK government.
The 52 existing waste-to-energy plants generated around 10,000 GWh of electricity for the UK grid in 2024, accounting for about 3.6% of the country’s total power generation. Their annual operating hours increased from an average of 7,586 hours to 7,656 hours, indicating a gradual improvement in load factor.Waste-to-energy plants in the UK generate 3.2 million tons of bottom ash annually, of which 99% is sent for recycling. In contrast, 515,000 tons of fly ash are produced each year, with 41.3% recycled—mainly for construction and salt mining—while the remainder is disposed of in landfills. Data released multiple times by UK research institutions and the Environmental Agency show that nitrogen oxide emissions from waste-to-energy plants account for only 0.71% of the country’s total NOx emissions, compared with 31.7% from vehicle exhaust.
The Environment Agency also notes that dioxin emissions from waste-to-energy plants are extremely low. According to its report, a 15-minute, 35-ton fireworks display during London’s Millennium celebrations released as much dioxin as the total emissions from the South East London waste-to-energy plant over 120 years. The Agency further estimates that in a single year, the entire energy recovery sector produces only about one-sixth of the dioxins generated by fireworks on Bonfire Night, celebrated annually on November 5.
In fact, beyond the UK, the entire European region has re-entered a growth phase in the waste-to-energy sector. Many projects across Europe are now reaching a critical stage of decommissioning and renewal, involving equipment replacement, technology upgrades, and major overhauls of components. As early as the end of 2021, the international journal *Waste Management World* interviewed sales executives from four leading companies in the European waste-to-energy industry—Suez, Doosan Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Europe, and Babcock & Wilcox. They shared their insights on future business development and emerging opportunities. The executives agreed that in the coming years, particularly in Western and Northern Europe, numerous aging incineration projects will undergo large-scale equipment upgrades, creating significant market opportunities in equipment procurement, technological retrofitting, and EPC contracts.
In fact, leading Chinese solid waste enterprises had already entered the European market years ago. For example, in 2021, China Tianying’s European subsidiary partnered with SUEZ’s Valo’Marne waste-to-energy plant in Paris, France, providing process design, procurement, construction, on-site installation, commissioning, and start-up services for the plant’s newly built third incineration line, under a contract worth €35 million. In 2023, Tianying collaborated again with SUEZ on a new waste-to-energy project in northern France, the Novasteam plant, delivering engineering design, procurement, construction, on-site installation, commissioning, and start-up services for the incinerator and boiler, with a contract value of €34.62 million.In May last year, during a state visit to France, Sanfeng Environment signed a cooperation agreement with SUEZ. The agreement stated that SUEZ would expand its global cooperation with Sanfeng in the field of waste-to-energy, further strengthening their strategic partnership. The two parties will deepen collaboration in project investment, EP and EPC contracting, as well as operations.
Compared with the relatively uncertain markets of Southeast Asia and Central Asia, the mature European market appears to offer Chinese waste-to-energy enterprises more reliable opportunities in equipment supply and financial cooperation innovation.