Developing a decision support tool for waste-to-energy calculations using energy return on investment

Abstract

Using systems engineering methodology, we build a decision support tool that enhances the Navy's ability to evaluate the economic viability of sites for waste-to-energy technologies, mirroring the current tool's capabilities and expanding its use. This tool returns recommendations about investing in waste-to-energy technology for a given facility or site. The recommendations are actionable results for the user in an easily digestible format in Microsoft Excel. The team has examined current Navy systems that evaluate waste-to-energy technologies and identified their shortfalls. These gaps directed the team's focus toward the critical areas that required improvement and/or development, including specifying required data and data sources. The team conducted stakeholder analysis and functional decomposition of the requisite model before constructing its additional module to the tool. This study shows the viability of waste-to-energy technologies to the Navy and Department of Defense. It supports the development of renewable power sources for a green Navy.