Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy at ACUA
Atlantic County, NJ
Committed to environmental quality
The Atlantic County
Utilities Authority
o
The Atlantic County Utilities
Authority is a public agency
that provides environmental
and waste management
services to the people of
Atlantic County and southern
New Jersey
o
The ACUA operates both
Wastewater and Solid Waste
Management Systems.
Committed to environmental quality
About the
o $66.9 million in annual revenue
o 250 employees
o Full service regional wastewater treatment facility, trash &
recycling collection, landfill, composting, recycling center,
CNG Filing Station and transfer station.
The ACUA Mission Statement. . .
The Atlantic County Utilities Authority is responsible for enhancing the
quality of life through the protection of waters and lands from pollution
by providing responsible waste management services. The Authority is
an environmental leader and will continue to use new technologies,
innovations and employee ideas to provide the highest quality and most
cost effective environmental services.
. . .makes the Authority a natural facilitator for renewable energy projects
Committed to environmental quality
ACUA Goes Green With:
o
7.5 megawatt wind farm
500 kilowatt solar generation facility
5.4 megawatt landfill gas to electric facility
o
Biodiesel- B5 blend powers the ACUA diesel fleet
o
Hybrid and Electric Vehicles
o
Geothermal heating and cooling
o
Energy conservation
o
Energy curtailment
o
Compressed Natural Gas vehicles
o
Membership in the Greenhouse Gas offset markets
Chicago Climate Exchange and Climate Action Reserve
o
o
Committed to environmental quality
Jersey – Atlantic Wind Farm
M.A. Mortenson Company
Atlantic City, NJ
Committed to environmental quality
Jersey – Atlantic Wind Farm
How it Works:

A weather station located on top of each of the wind
turbines turns the nacelle, the small building at the
top of the tower, facing into the wind.

The turbine’s three blades pitch to maximize the
speed at which the turbine spins. A shaft, attached
to the hub of the blades, turns a gear box that is
attached to a generator that processes the
electricity.

The electricity is then transported to the ground by
wires, which are then attached to the electrical grid
at the plant.
Committed to environmental quality
Jersey – Atlantic Wind Farm
Energy Generation:

Once the wind is blowing more than 12 miles
per hour, each wind turbine can produce 1.5
megawatts of electricity.

At reduced wind speeds, electricity production
decreases.

When wind speed exceeds 45 miles per hour
the turbines shut down to protect the machinery
inside.
Committed to environmental quality
Jersey – Atlantic Wind Farm
Project Specifics:
Wind farm owners: Jersey-Atlantic
Wind, LLC, a partner with original
developer Community Energy, Inc.
 Project includes five, 380 foot tall
turbines.
 Each turbine is capable of producing
1.5 megawatts for a total of 7.5
megawatts.

Committed to environmental quality
Jersey – Atlantic Wind Farm
Project Specifics:
o
Enough to power 2,500 homes
o
When operating at design wind conditions, the
energy is used to operate the ACUA wastewater
treatment plant, with any excess energy
provided to the main power grid.
Committed to environmental quality
Jersey – Atlantic Wind Farm
Project Specifics:

Project cost was $12.5 million.
Community Energy received a $1.7
million grant from the New Jersey Board
of Public Utilities, and a $1.92 million
customer supply grant through Atlantic
City Electric.

The wind farm has saved the ACUA over
$2.4 million dollars in its first five years of
operation.
Committed to environmental quality
Wind Farm: Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)




20 year agreement between ACUA and JerseyAtlantic Wind, LLC.
ACUA receives a $15,000 yearly payment from
Jersey-Atlantic Wind, LLC as a lease for the
land in the project.
ACUA has guaranteed to purchase 9,500,000
kWh a year.
The cost charged is 7.95 cents a kWh over the
life of the agreement. The grid rate paid in 2010
was 12 cents for utility grid power.
Committed to environmental quality
Solar at ACUA
How it Works

Solar cells convert sunlight directly into electricity.
Cells are made of semiconductor-type materials
similar to that used in computer chips.

When these materials absorb sunlight the solar
energy knocks electrons loose from the atoms
producing electricity.

This process of converting light (photons) to
electricity (voltage) is called the photovoltaic (PV)
effect.
Committed to environmental quality
Solar at ACUA
How it Works (continued)

Individual solar cells are combined into modules or panels that
are mounted into larger arrays.

In the ACUA application, DC power produced by the solar
arrays is fed to the inverters.

The inverters convert the DC power to AC power that is then
fed into the building’s electrical system.

The performance of a solar cell is measured in terms of its
efficiency at converting sunlight into electricity.

A typical solar cell has an efficiency of 15 percent, meaning
about one-sixth of the sunlight striking the cell
generates electricity.
Committed to environmental quality
ACUA’s Solar Portfolio
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
2,700 solar panels installed at Wastewater Treatment Facility in five arrays - two
roof top, two ground mounts and one canopy array
500 kW system owned and maintained by ACUA
Operational in 2006
$3.25 million project
$1.9 million CORE rebate from NJBPU
Electricity from the solar arrays also create SRECs (Solar Renewable Energy
Credits)
So far the ACUA’s solar arrays have generated over 3 million kWh of electricity
and saved the ACUA over $1.8 million
Committed to environmental quality
Renewable Energy Use at
ACUA
Renewable Energy Use
Landfill Gas
18,000,000
Solar
Wind
16,000,000
ENERGY USED IN KWH
14,000,000
12,000,000
10,000,000
12,159,765
11,230,661
11,342,617
11,148,367
486,520
678,147
665,736
601,264
653,150
3,410,441
3,477,009
3,324,076
3,256,304
3,149,046
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
11,927,798
8,000,000
6,000,000
4,000,000
2,000,000
1501
2,495,515
0
2005
Committed to environmental quality
Renewable Energy Savings
and Revenue at ACUA
Renewable Energy Projects - Cost Savings & Revenue
Landfill Gas Total
Solar Total
Wind Total
$2,000,000
$1,800,000
$1,600,000
$511,673
$505,012
$470,825
$511,695
$860,380
$885,959
$871,467
2008
2009
2010
$623,602
$1,400,000
$1,200,000
$428,420
$1,000,000
$414,688
$800,000
$421,780
$600,000
$400,000
$229,297
$165,066
$556,613
$200,000
$188,029
$302,065
$0
2005
2006
2007
Committed to environmental quality
Electric Charging Stations and
Electric Vehicles at the ACUA



The ACUA has installed a total of three
Electric Vehicle Charging Stations at
the Atlantic City Wastewater Treatment
Facility and the Solid Waste Facility,
which are all powered by clean energy.
The Wastewater Treatment Plant is
powered by wind and solar energy,
while the Solid Waste Facility is
powered by a Landfill Gas to Energy
Project.
The ACUA hopes this project will
jumpstart the use of electric cars and
the development of charging stations.
Committed to environmental quality
Electric Vehicles
oThe ACUA unveiled three electric charging
stations in July of 2009 on both its Solid
Waste and Wastewater Treatment sites
oThe stations are capable of charging at 110
volts or 220 volts
oThe ACUA owns a low-speed GEM electric
car and a 2000 Ford Ranger EV
oThe Ranger gets 61 miles on a single charge
and takes between 6 and 8 hours to charge
oEstimated cost of $0.04 per mile
oElectricity produced for the vehicles comes
from renewable sources
Committed to environmental quality
Greening the Office Place:
Energy & Water Conservation
•
•
•
•
•
•
Waterless urinals, faucet sensors and low-flow
aerators
Replaced CRT monitors with energy efficient LCDs
Computer monitors utilize energy saving “sleep”
mode
Reduced servers by 1/3
Energy Star certified appliances and office
equipment and high efficiency lighting
Energy Audit done by Concord through the NJCEP,
Local Government Energy Audit Program (LGEA)
Committed to environmental quality
Portfolio Manager at ACUA
In preparation for the LGEA, ACUA
benchmarked the Wastewater Treatment
Facility in Atlantic City using Portfolio
Manager
Helps Compare Wastewater Facilities
 Helps to show where energy efficiency
improvements can be made within the
plant.

Committed to environmental quality
Tom Lauletta
Vice President of Wastewater
Atlantic County Utilities Authority
Contact information:
609-343-7732
tlauletta@acua.com
Committed to environmental quality