Analysis of a CHP plant in a municipal solid waste landfill in the South of Spain

The most effective strategy to manage and treat solid urban residues, with the least environmental impact as well as lowest economic and energy costs, is a challenge for sustainability in current society, who actually pay for the final management of these residues. This manuscript analyzes the potential of biogas generation in an urban solid residue treatment plant, and the potential use for cogeneration in situ at the landfill. The objective is to identify the energy potential associated with the landfill and its potential use to accelerate the evaporation of leachate through the supply of heat, reducing the risks of exceeding the collection capacity of the leachate ponds. The change in legislation for generation within the special regime in Spain (2014) introduced a sudden change in the direction of energy policies, which affected significantly the profitability of these facilities. This manuscript analyzes the application of both legislations, previous (2007) and current (2014), for the case of a cogeneration system installed in this landfill. The results obtained indicate that even with a much more restrictive legislation in force, acceptable values are obtained for the evaluation of the investment - however, better results were obtained for the previous legislation that favored the special regime. The new regulation constrains the maximum and minimum annual operating hours for landfill cogeneration. It results in relevant periods with limited use of biogas for electricity generation. Biogas storage for delayed future consumption in the same installation and biogas selling for external use in boilers are proposed as options for this biogas in excess. They can reduce greenhouse gases emissions from the non-used biogas and can improve the economic results of the facility.