The waste – to – energy market in East Asia

The waste – to – energy market in East Asia shows a prosperous trend, with huge market potential in countries such as China, Japan, and South Korea, driven by factors like increasing waste volume, policy support, and technological progress. The specific situation is as follows:

- **China**: China is the world’s largest single – market for waste – to – energy plants. In 2025, the installed capacity of waste – to – energy power generation in China will reach 35GW, and the unit investment cost will drop to 400,000 yuan/ton/day, a decrease of 26% compared with 2020. With the slowdown of the growth rate of new domestic projects, Chinese enterprises are actively exploring overseas markets, especially in Southeast Asia, where there is a large market space due to the high population density, rapid urbanization, rich biomass resources, and great environmental pressure.

- **Japan**: The Japanese waste – to – energy market has a large scale and shows a growth trend. In 2024, the market size reached 59.2 TWh, and it is expected to reach 81.3 TWh by 2033, with a compound annual growth rate of 3.42% from 2025 to 2033. Due to the limited land area, Japan is committed to environmental sustainability, and waste – to – energy has become a key waste – disposal strategy. The Japanese government has strict regulations on waste disposal and emissions, and also provides incentives and policy support for renewable energy projects, which strongly promotes the development of the waste – to – energy market.

- **South Korea**: South Korea’s waste – to – energy market is complex and diversified. With the acceleration of urbanization and population growth, the amount of waste generated in South Korea is increasing, providing a broad market space for the waste – to – energy industry. The South Korean government has strongly supported the waste – to – energy industry, encouraged enterprises to invest in waste – to – energy projects through a series of policies and regulations, and provided financial subsidies and tax incentives. Enterprises such as Korea South – East Power Co., Ltd. (KOSEP) and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. (KHNP) have obvious market share and technical advantages in this field.