Bergen County Utilities Authority
Little Ferry, NJ
Superstorm Sandy & BCUA’s
Energy Resiliency Plan
Dominic L. DiSalvo, PE, BCEE
Richard M. Cestone, PE, CHMM
Water and Energy Nexus
in Disaster Workshop
November 6, 2013
Bergen County Utilities Authority
Agenda
•
Overview of BCUA’s Little Ferry Water
Pollution Control Facility (WPCF)
•
Overview of Superstorm Sandy Impacts
•
Overview of BCUA Mitigation Approach and
Energy Resiliency
•
Details on the Combined Heat and Power
(CHP) System Upgrade and Additional CHP
•
Black Start Capabilities
•
Questions
Bergen County Utilities Authority
BCUA
Little Ferry Water Pollution Control Facility
• In service since 1951
• Expanded through the 1970s, 80s and 90s.
• Design Capacity: 109 MGD Maximum Month
• Provides secondary treatment.
• Discharges treated water into the Hackensack
River.
The BCUA owns and operates seven pumping
stations in the Little Ferry WPCF collection (sewer)
system.
(Municipalities in service area own sewers and
combined sewer overflows.)
Bergen County Utilities Authority
BCUA
Service
Area
Little Ferry WPCF
• Serves about 536,000
residents.
• 46 municipalities
• Commercial/Industrial
- METLIFE Stadium
- Others
Bergen County Utilities Authority
Impacts of
Superstorm
Sandy
• 100-Year Flood Impacts
• Loss of Service Costs:
$1M per hour
• Systems
• Power/Alternate Power
• BCUA Preparedness and
Successes during Response
Bergen County Utilities Authority
Bergen County Utilities Authority
Restoration
• Asset inventory of damage
• Systems level plan for restoration
• Scopes of work and cost estimates
submitted to FEMA
Bergen County Utilities Authority
Flood
Elevations
Superstorm
Sandy and
the Future
• Estimated Superstorm Sandy
Elevation on site: 9.0 + feet
• Proposed 100-Year Storm Elevation
for the Area: 9.0 feet
• Proposed 500-Year Storm Elevation:
12.0 feet
• Design Storm for Mitigation: 100-Year
(9.0 feet) + 2-foot freeboard + 1-foot
Sea Level Rise = 12.0 feet
Bergen County Utilities Authority
Plant–wide
Mitigation
• Plan for improvements to mitigate
future impacts
• Tiered prioritization of “at risk”
components
• Scopes of work and cost estimates
submitted to FEMA
Bergen County Utilities Authority
Mitigation
Tiers
• Tier 1: Moving wastewater (WW) out of the
collection system
• Tier 2: Conveyance through the plant and
disinfection
• Tier 3: Primary and secondary treatment
• Tier 4: Operations
• Tier 5: Ancillary
Bergen County Utilities Authority
BCUA
Power
Supply
Power supply is critical to maintaining service to the
community.
Loss of power supply:
• No wastewater (sewage) treatment
• Wastewater will remain in the collection system.
-
Backup into the community
Local health and safety issues
• According to FEMA, lost wastewater service is
equivalent to $45/person/day:
-
At 536,000 residents = $24M per day ($1M per hour)
Poor power quality:
• Potential damage to plant equipment
Bergen County Utilities Authority
BCUA
Power
Supply
Existing BCUA Power Supply:
• PSE&G electrical grid
• Biogas powered generators (natural gas from
PSE&G available)
• Backup emergency generators (kerosene fuel)
During Superstorm Sandy:
• Power fluctuations in PSE&G electrical grid
• Equipment damage
• BCUA took itself off the PSE&G electrical grid
• BCUA operated emergency generators
Bergen County Utilities Authority
Power
Supply
Mitigation
Goal: Maintain wastewater service at all times,
including outage/fluctuations in the PSE&G
electrical power grid.
Approach: Create a new power supply microgrid as
the primary source of electricity. The PSE&G
electrical power grid will be the secondary or
standby source.
•
•
•
Based on the expansion of existing biogas powered
CHP electric generator system.
Use sustainable primary fuel – Biogas from the on-site
digestion of sewage sludge (biosolids), brown grease
and food organics.
Use natural gas from the PSE&G piping network as
the secondary or standby fuel for CHP.
Bergen County Utilities Authority
Power
Supply
Backup
Mitigation
New Power Supply Microgrid Project will include:
• New third CHP electric generator
• New energy efficient aeration blowers
• Upgrades to the digester system to enhance
on-site biogas fuel production and provide
storage
• New brown grease and food waste receiving
and processing system to augment biogas
production
Bergen County Utilities Authority
Other
Power
Supply
Mitigation
Protect key power supply assets from flooding at
the design flood elevation.
Main Substation:
• Raise electrical components.
Switchgear Building and Cogeneration Building:
• Dry proof walls.
• Install flood-resistant entrances.
• Install a flood wall around the building.
• Raise the transformer outside the Cogeneration
Building.
Bergen County Utilities Authority
BCUA’s
History of
Biogas Use
In 1995, the BCUA installed 1.3 MW caterpillar gas fired
engines for their air blower system providing air to their
aeration tanks. The engines were designed to burn natural
gas and biogas.
The BCUA cut a deal with PSEG. This Standard Offer
Agreement with PSEG would provide a cost savings if
biogas was used in the engines. When the engines started,
however, silicon dioxide – a product of combustion of
siloxanes – caused increases of NOx and CO emissions and
PSEG considered revoking the Standard Offer.
The BCUA installed a carbon absorption system removing
the siloxanes, thus lowering emissions and the Standard
Offer remained.
Bergen County Utilities Authority
BCUA’s
History of
Biogas Use
Bergen County Utilities Authority
BCUA’s
History of
Biogas Use
Bergen County Utilities Authority
CHP
Cogeneration
Facility
•
•
•
The BCUA blower engine success was the
model for installation of other engines burning
biogas.
Based on the lessons learned from the
blower engines, the BCUA constructed an
CHP Cogeneration Facility at their Little Ferry
WPCF in 2006.
Two 1.4 MW General Electric (GE)
Jenbacher internal combustion engines were
installed and have the capability of burning
both natural gas and biogas generated from
the anaerobic digesters. This resulted in…
Bergen County Utilities Authority
CHP
Cogeneration
Facility
Bergen County Utilities Authority
CHP
Cogeneration
Facility
•
•
•
•
The CHP plant located next to the Blower
Engine Building commenced operation in 2008.
The plant was able to save over $11 million to
date in what would’ve been the cost for natural
gas and electricity.
In 2009, the BCUA developed an Energy
Master Plan to examine energy savings
throughout the facility. The centerpiece of the
Energy Master Plan was the CHP plant.
The BCUA CHP facility was deemed a great
success and won awards from the NJDEP,
Association of Environmental Authorities (AEA)
and Board of Public Utilities (BPU). However,
there is always room to improve.
Bergen County Utilities Authority
CHP
Cogeneration
Facility
•
Earlier in 2013 after an 18-year run, the
BCUA decided to decommission the gas-fired
blower engines. The BCUA currently has
three electric engines powering the blowers.
•
The BCUA decided to add a third engine for
the CHP unit and located it in the vacated
area of the gas-fired blower engines. The
engine will be the same 1.4 MW size and will
most likely be a GE Jenbacher engine or an
engine equivalent in nature.
Bergen County Utilities Authority
Additions
to the CHP
Facility
Two reasons the BCUA decided to add a
third engine:
• Two engines can constantly operate
while one can be serviced.
• The BCUA is setting up a receiving
station for fats, oils and grease (FOG) to
inject into the anaerobic digester and
burn biogas. The BCUA has also planned
to receive food wastes, such as whey, to
inject into the anaerobic digester to
generate additional biogas.
Bergen County Utilities Authority
Additions
to the CHP
Facility
• Even though there are cost savings
due to the CHP facility and tipping
fees for FOG and food wastes, the
BCUA still needed additional funding
to install the third CHP engine.
• In 2013, the BCUA applied for a grant
through the New Jersey BPU’s
Renewable Energy Incentive Program
(REIP).
Bergen County Utilities Authority
Additions
to the CHP
Facility
• On October 25, 2013, the BCUA was
awarded a $2.5 million grant to help fund
the installation of the third CHP engine.
• With the engine located in the blower
building, the third engine will already
have natural gas and biogas lines to be
connected easily to this engine. The gas
pretreatment system used for the blower
engines will be used for the third engine.
• Expected completion and operation
commencement is late April 2015.
Bergen County Utilities Authority
Black Start
Capabilities
• Currently, the BCUA has three kerosenefired back-up turbines to operate the
plant in case of a power outage.
• The engines have the capability of
operating the wastewater treatment
areas and sludge processing while the
CHP unit is turned off.
• The CHP engines can operate during
extended power outages if kerosene is
depleted and cannot be delivered.
Bergen County Utilities Authority
Conclusion
• The BCUA can operate with limited
outside fuel sources with an CHP
system and energy savings based on
the tasks provided in their Energy
Master Plan.
• The BCUA will continue to find ways
to reduce costs and conserve energy
to operate the facility and survive
emergency situations.
Bergen County Utilities Authority
Contact
Information
• Dominic L. DiSalvo, PE, BCEE
ARCADIS U.S., Inc.
(914) 641-2829
dominic.disalvo@arcadis-us.com
• Richard M. Cestone, PE, CHMM
Remington & Vernick Engineers
(856) 795-9595
Richard.Cestone@rve.com
Bergen County Utilities Authority
Questions?
Bergen County Utilities Authority