Challenges of Waste to Energy Facility in Reppi (koshe), Addis Ababa City

Waste to energy is internationally recognized as a powerful tool to prevent the formation of greenhouse gas emissions and to mitigate climate change. To convert municipal solid waste to energy Addis Ababa City Administration and Ethiopia Electric Power has established waste to energy plant to generate 25-MW- 50MW electricity per day. The Koshe-Reppie Waste to Energy plant has been constructed on the area of 7-hectares from the total area of 37-hectares of dumping site. The Facility is being operational the likely sources of negative and positive impacts from the waste to energy plant are leachate from storage and handling of municipal solid waste; unusable wastes for disposal; wastewater from the plant's energy generation process and from bathrooms; air emissions from the spent exhaust gases; noise emissions from the operation of the plant; and bio-char and residual ashes for management further use or disposal. The composition of waste which is delivered to WTE facility is crucial factor that determined energy efficiency and operational management of the facility, emission control and environmental impact issues. The Cambridge waste-to-energy plant at Reppie (Koshe) will use as feedstock between 1,400 tonnes per day of municipal solid waste. This amount accounts for less than 50% of the municipal solid waste collected in Addis Ababa on a daily basis. Therefore, delivery of solid waste with appropriate composition to WTE plant is very important. the Reppie WtE plant, the local site-specific environmental impacts were explained as relatively small, the summary of an EIA report indicates that the potential increase in direct air emissions is0.01–1%. In addition the Facility will operate with two lines running at a nominal design through put of 16 tones per hour (tph) for a design Net Calorific Value (NCV). Waste is combusted at a minimum temperature of 850°C with the released heat generating superheated steam. The major impacts on health and safety are related to emission from the facility. However compared to the emission levels of the open dump site, the facility will have a major reversal effect in the emissions of any toxic or greenhouse gases. In fact due to the EU Environmental Directive that is taken as a standard for the facility, the contractor will install a world class Flue Gas Treatment (FGT) that consistently monitors and reduces emission levels. Stakeholder engagement approaches and common initiatives can reduce costs, generate economies of scale, attract investments, boost financial capacity, stimulate cross-border trade and enable common progress in accelerating the deployment of waste to energy across the country and worldwide. Waste classification must be aggressively promoted at the source. In doing so, the heat value of incinerated waste will improve. WTE plant and publishing coherent real-time information regarding the plant's pollutant emissions would also help to dispel public doubts. In addition, no matter how advanced the technology of waste incineration plant is, the government should not expect citizens to voluntarily sacrifice their own interests. Thus, the government should compensate residents near incineration plants, either by giving them money, or by providing them with heat and electricity at discounted prices.