Study: Global Waste-to-Energy Market to Grow 11 Percent Annually

The global waste-to-energy (WTE) market will grow at an annual compound rate of 11.2 percent through 2021, according to a new study.

The report by industrial and energy market research publisher SBI also estimated that the market will grow in dollars to $27.2 billion in 2021 from $8.5 billion in 2011, the firm said in a New York-based news release.

The SBI Bulletin, “Waste-to-Energy Technologies, Market Size and Growth: 2006-2021,” reported that the market grew at a compound annual growth rate of 8 percent from 2006 to 2010, with the market increasing from $4.8 billion to $7.1 billion.

During that period, about 95 percent of the waste-to-energy market consisted of two technologies, incineration and anaerobic digestion. "However, pyrolysis, plasma gasification and gasification are expected to gain relative market share, and together will comprise over 30 percent of the total WTE market by 2015," said SBI Bulletin analyst Robert Eckard.