Global investment in waste-to-energy will reach $95.19 million in 2035. Gas injection from the largest underground gas reservoir in central and eastern China broke through 16 billion cubic meters
（2025/08/11—2025/08/17）
Author: Shu-Xin Zhang
International Energy News
1. Global investment in waste-to-energy will reach $95.19 million in 2035
Recent reports project that the global waste-to-energy market will reach $95.19 million by 2035, with a compound annual growth rate of 7.2%. According to Market Research Future, the Asia-Pacific region is the fastest-growing market, driven by rapid urbanization and government investments in waste management. China, Japan, and South Korea are expanding landfill capacities to address landfill shortages and air pollution.
The primary drivers of the waste-to-energy market include continuously increasing global waste generation and growing demand for renewable energy from governments and enterprises. Simultaneously, stringent environmental regulations are playing a critical role, with many countries implementing policies to restrict landfill usage and promote circular economies. Incentives, tax credits, and subsidies for renewable energy projects are further accelerating the adoption of waste-to-power technologies.
While traditional incineration remains the dominant method, newer processes like gasification, pyrolysis, and anaerobic digestion are gaining traction. The report emphasizes that as waste volumes rise, technologies advance, and regional policies strengthen, waste incineration power generation will play a pivotal role in building a cleaner, more sustainable energy future. Moreover, ongoing technological progress will not only alleviate environmental pressures but also significantly contribute to global energy security.
2. U.S.-German enterprises collaborate on "photovoltaic noise barriers" to pioneer green transportation frontiers
Recently, U.S. and German enterprises announced a partnership to deploy integrated photovoltaic noise barrier systems across North American and European markets. These systems can be widely applied along transportation corridors such as highways, railways, and airport runways, supporting energy transition and clean transportation infrastructure development. The solution integrates high-efficiency PV modules with advanced sound-absorbing and sound-deflecting materials, enabling simultaneous noise control and solar power generation. The system supports both grid-connected and off-grid operation modes, with expandability for EV charging and battery storage, making it suitable for urban and rural deployment.
Despite promising applications, the technology still faces challenges including stable power generation, high noise-reduction efficiency, low glare, structural safety, and aesthetic integration. Pilot and demonstration projects are currently underway at multiple U.S. sites, involving state transportation departments, highway/railway authorities, universities, and private rail operators.
Notably, such "power-generating noise barriers" are gaining global traction. A Japanese railway company is testing perovskite PV modules in noise barriers, while a Lithuanian team is experimenting with bifacial PV components along highways. These initiatives signal that "power-generating noise barriers" are emerging as a new frontier in clean energy-infrastructure integration.
3. UK’s new solar PV installations may exceed 1 GW in 2025
Preliminary statistics from the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) show that as of June 2025, the country’s cumulative installed solar PV capacity reached 19 GW, with 621 MW added in the first half of the year. Analysts project that full-year new installations could surpass 1 GW as more projects connect to the grid and data is updated.
In June 2025 alone, 88 MW of new capacity came online (spanning 23,351 installations). Notably, a 373 MW solar plant commenced operations in July–now the UK’s largest standalone PV project. Concurrently, multiple utility-scale projects (including 180 MW, 400 MW, 500 MW, and 138 MW facilities) recently secured development approval through the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP) pathway, signaling growing pipeline strength.
However, accelerating deployment remains critical to meet the national target of 45–47 GW by 2030. To this end, the UK government’s Solar Roadmap outlines key support measures: The seventh Contracts for Difference allocation round will launch in August 2025; Planned upgrades to new-build home energy efficiency standards; Streamlined planning approvals and grid connection processes; Exploration of flexible deployment models (e.g., plug-and-play balcony/rooftop solar, PV carports).
Domestic energy news
1. Gas injection from the largest underground gas reservoir in central and eastern China broke through 16 billion cubic meters
The Wen 23 Gas Storage Facility—operated by PipeChina Storage Technology Company—has injected over 16 billion cubic meters of gas, reinforcing its critical role in ensuring national energy security and peak-shaving for China’s integrated natural gas pipeline network. As the largest storage facility in central-eastern China by capacity, gas volume, and peak-shaving capability, this strategic "ballast" asset has completed five injection-withdrawal cycles, with cumulative gas turnover exceeding 23.6 billion cubic meters. It continues to deliver efficient, clean energy support for national energy security.
To fully leverage the gas storage facility’s peak-shaving capacity and prepare for the peak demand season in the upcoming winter and spring, Wen 23 Gas Storage completed its transition from extraction to injection within just three days after concluding the previous winter supply mission on March 10. The team optimized injection protocols, enhanced reservoir performance analysis, and rigorously monitored operational parameters. Precision management through "well-specific strategies" was implemented alongside preventive compressor maintenance. Inspections of wells, critical equipment, and pipelines were intensified to ensure full-capacity, maximized, and accelerated injection.
During its sixth injection cycle, compressors ran at full throttle with all wells operating simultaneously. Daily injection rates consistently exceeded 10 million cubic meters, pushing total injection volume beyond 1.1 billion cubic meters. These efforts underscore the facility’s vital function as a natural gas peak-shaving "stabilizer".
2. China’s largest PV-to-green-hydrogen project produces 13,000 tons of green hydrogen
Since commencing operations over 770 days ago, China’s first 10,000-ton-level photovoltaic green hydrogen demonstration project in Kuqa economic and technological development zone, Xinjiang, has stably produced approximately 13,000 metric tons of green hydrogen. As the nation’s largest integrated solar-to-green-hydrogen facility, it spans the entire industrial chain from solar power generation and transmission to water electrolysis, hydrogen storage/transportation, and green hydrogen refining.
The project’s hydrogen undergoes purification and pressurization before being piped 6 kilometers to Sinopec Tahe Petrochemical, replacing its original natural gas-based hydrogen production. Project managers state that operating at full capacity with full hydrogen utilization could reduce CO₂ emissions by ~485,000 metric tons annually.
To expand application scenarios and boost utilization, operators began exploring hydrogen-blending technology for municipal natural gas systems in late 2024, injecting ~500 tons of green hydrogen to date. Next-phase plans include establishing a vehicle hydrogen refueling hub and collaborating with regional hydrogen utilization projects to advance green hydrogen’s role across broader economic and civil sectors.
3. China’s largest desert oilfield tops 50 million tonnes in total output
Operated by PetroChina Tarim Oilfield in the Taklimakan Desert, the Hadson-Fuman Oilfield has surpassed a cumulative oil and gas production equivalent of 50 million metric tonnes. This milestone establishes it as a green, low-carbon, and intelligent ultra-deep oilfield in the desert’s core.
The Hadson Oilfield, with reservoirs over 5,000 meters deep and oil layers as thin as 0.6 meters, overcame extreme geological challenges. Since 2000, it set 10 onshore records by pioneering techniques like ultra-deep horizontal drilling and multilateral wells, becoming China’s first desert marine oilfield with reserves exceeding 100 million tonnes.
Meanwhile, the Fuman Oilfield, China’s largest ultra-deep project, battles "triple ultra plus high-sulfur" conditions (ultra-deep, ultra-high temperature, ultra-high pressure). Innovations include breakthrough theories in fracture-controlled carbonate reservoirs and nitrogen gravity-assisted flooding technology. These advances enabled efficient development of over 10 ultra-deep blocks. In 2024, Fuman’s annual output surged to 4.21 million metric tonnes, cementing its status as China’s most productive oilfield below 7,000 meters and strengthening national energy security.
(Main news sources: CCTVNEWS APP, Xinhua New Media, International Energy Network, China Energy Network, National Energy Administration)
