Page 50 - Waste-to-Energy in the Danube Strategy Region. Challenges and Prospects

Looking at the electricity sector, most countries have a share of RES over 20%. Half have

shares greater than the EU 28 average. Thus, the situation in the electricity sector also looks rather
strong already. Nevertheless, WtE might be regarded as an option for further improvement in this

sector not only as a potential renewable source but as an alternative to other fuels, especially coal

and gas. To consider WtE’s potential in this area, it is useful to look at current exploitation of WtE

for electricity.

2,5

2

1,5

1

0,5

0
Germany Austria Hungary Czech Slovakia Slovenia Serbia
Republic

Figure 9. % of gross electricity production from waste (Eurostat 2018b)

Figures 9 and 10 provide an overview of the use of WtE for electricity in selected DSR

countries. The percentage of electricity produced from waste in DSR countries ranges from 2.04%

in Germany to a negligible 0.01% in Serbia (see Figure 9 above). The remaining countries produce
no electricity from waste. Looking at Figure 10 below, we can further break down WtE electricity

production according to the waste source (MSW vs. industrial) and whether it is regarded as

renewable. With the exceptions of Slovakia and Slovenia, which produce electricity exclusively

from industrial waste, MSW accounts for most of the electricity produced from waste, ranging
from 56% in Austria to 92% in Czech Republic. Furthermore, for most countries the renewable

portion of MSW is dominant. The two exceptions are Germany, where the split is 50-50, and

Austria, where only 40% of the MSW fraction is considered renewable. Nevertheless, the general

conclusion to be drawn from this data is that waste does not account for a high percentage of

Project co-funded by the European Union
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