Energy Management & Alternative
Energy Use in the Water Sector
John S. Young, Jr., P.E.
President – American Water Works Service Co.
November 19, 2008
We manage more than 350 individual water systems in 32 states
serving approximately 15M people in 1,600 communities
Every day we operate and manage:
•
45,000 miles of distribution and
collection mains
And more than:
•
80 surface water treatment plants
•
600 groundwater treatment plants
•
1,000 groundwater wells
•
40 wastewater treatment plants
Utility Only
O&M Only
Both
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How Much Electricity Does the Water Industry Use?
•
Drinking water and wastewater consume:
 3% of domestic electricity1
 7% of worldwide electricity
 19% of California electricity2
1.
2.
3.
•
Water utility energy use varies widely from 0.25 to 3.5 kWh per
1,000 gallons of drinking water produced and delivered3
•
The median 50% of water utilities serving populations >10,000
have electricity use between 1.0 and 2.5 kWh/1,000 gallons3
Electric Power Research Institute (Burton 1996)
Energy Down the Drain: The Hidden Costs of California’s Water Supply
AwwaRF 91201.Energy Index Development for Benchmarking Water and Wastewater Utilities
3
Why does it take so much electricity to pump water?
Water is Heavy! Over 4 tons per 1,000 gallons!
4
Emerging Technologies Use More Energy
New regulations are increasing the use of the
following, energy intensive treatment processes:
Added Technology
Additional Energy
• UV Disinfection
• Ozone
• Membranes
Nano and RO
Ultrafiltration
Microfiltration
70-100 kWh/MG
170 kWh/MG
1,800 kWh/MG
1,000 kwh/MG
100 kwh/MG
5
Water Resource & Water Quality Solution Cycle
Water Resource & Water Quality
Challenges
Technology Solutions
E.g. UV, Ozone, &
Membranes
Innovative
Solutions are
needed to break
Drought, Saltwater Intrusion,
this cycle! Increased Energy Consumption
Unpredictable Weather Patterns,
Lower Raw Water Quality
Climate Change
6
Climate Leaders
• A voluntary EPA partnership with U.S.
companies to develop long-term,
comprehensive climate change strategies
 Inventory corporate GHG emissions
 Set corporate-wide GHG reduction goals
 Measure and report GHG emissions to the EPA
• For more information and a list of Climate
Leaders partners, please visit
www.epa.gov/climateleaders
7
Project Status
•
January 2006: American Water signs Climate
Leaders Partnership Agreement
•
March 2006:
•
March 2006: AW Climate Leaders Kick-off Workshop
•
March 2007: Submit database tracking plan to EPA
•
December 2008: Complete 12 months of GHG emission monitoring
and report same to EPA….baseline
•
September 2009: Submit GHG emissions reduction plan to EPA
Submit draft GHG inventory to EPA
8
Creating a GHG Inventory
Conduct inventory using internationally recognized
protocol (United Nations IPCC-Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change) which includes:
 Stationary Combustion: Fuels burned on-site for Furnaces, OnSite Generators, Hot Water Heaters, Engine Driven Devices
(e.g. pumps), etc.
 Mobile Combustion: Cars, Trucks, Boats & Planes
 Fugitive Emissions: Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Units,
Process emissions, Landfill emissions
 Indirect Sources: From the fuels used to produce Purchased
Electricity or Steam
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AW Inventory of GHG Emissions
Emissions Source
Category
Fuel
Stationary Combustion
Natural Gas
Diesel
Mobile Combustion
Gasoline
Diesel
Purchased Electricity
Electricity
Quantity
3,707,312 therms
427,632 gallons
Emissions
(Metric Tons
CO2e)
19,614
4,323
Percent
Total
Emissions
2.32%
0.51%
2,410,653 gallons
409,189 gallons
22,603
4,126
2.68%
0.49%
793,536
94.00%
844,203
100.00%
1,258,761,005
Units
kWh
Total Emissions
Emissions in metric tons CO2e includes CO2, N2O and methane emissions
Emissions from flared methane gas and HVAC were both <0.5%
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Strategies to Reduce Energy and GHGe Intensity
• Establishment of an Energy Management Group
• Decreasing Non-Revenue Water (NRW) decreases water
pumped = lower electrical use
• Increase Pumping Efficiency
 Conduct pump tests and optimize efficiency by trimming or replacing
impellers
 Install VFDs to maximize pump efficiency at each pump demand
 Install new high efficiency pumps and motors
• Upgrade lighting to latest generation florescent lighting
• Optimize HVAC systems to provide only that level of cooling
or dehumidification that is needed
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What About “Green Power?”
Purchasing or producing “Green Power” will decrease a utility’s
greenhouse gas emissions, but it will not lower the power
consumed.
•
•
•
Solar
Wind
Bio-methane from plant and landfill recovery
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Canal Road Solar Array
590 kW ground-mounted photovoltaic system
Produces 687,000 kilowatts of energy / year
Eliminates 721,245 pounds (327 metric tons)
of CO2e per year
13
Benefits of On-Site Solar Generation
• Fixed effective power cost for system life (25 years or more)
 Last 30 years, electricity has increased 4.6% annually
• Hedge against electricity/fossil fuel price volatility
 Mitigate exposure to price spikes with Time Of Day rates
• Reasonable return on investment
 Availability of significant NJ rebates, federal tax incentives and
tradable Renewable Energy Credits (SREC) yield a return on
investment
• Environmental Stewardship – Greenhouse Gas Reduction
 Community goodwill
 Positive publicity
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Project Timeline
• June 2004 - NJ Clean Energy Program rebates secured
• December 2004 – Supply Contract Awarded to Dome-Tech
Solar
• January 2005 - Site Plan Submitted to local officials
• February 2005 – Solicit Installation Bids & Award Installation
• April 2005 Obtain Planning Board Approval
• May 2005 – Installation Begins
• September 2005 – System Startup
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NJAW - Canal Road System Performance
100000.00
PV Watts Expected (kWH)
Actual Measured (kWH)
90000.00
Energy Produced (kWH)
80000.00
70000.00
60000.00
50000.00
40000.00
30000.00
20000.00
10000.00
0.00
Jan-07 Feb-07 Mar-07 Apr-07 May-07 Jun-07 Jul-07 Aug-07 Sep-07 Oct-07 Nov-07 Dec-07 Jan-08 Feb-08 Mar-08 Apr-08 May-08 Jun-08 Jul-08 Aug-08 Sep-08
Months of Year
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Economic Benefit
•
•
•
•
Total cost of project: $3.5 million
Net cost of project: $1.6 million (after receipt of rebates from NJ
Clean Energy Program)
Generate over 585,000 kwh/year.
Annual savings:
 $61k/yr in avoided electricity purchase
 $99k/year for 5 years in sale of Renewable Energy Credits
 $803k in tax benefits over six years
•
Approximately 5 year payback
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Other Environmental Equivalents
One year reduction from a 585,000 kWh solar plant.
• 699,856 pounds of carbon dioxide
This is equivalent to:
• Planting 94 acres of tree seedlings
• 2.6 Acres of forest preserved from deforestation
• 36,163 gallons of gasoline
• 13,230 propane cylinders used for home barbeques
Sources: US EPA and U.S.- Climate Technology Cooperation
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Conclusions
•
Addressing climate change makes good business sense
•
Water utilities are not just the recipients of the effects
of climate change, they are also part of the problem!
•
Multiple mechanisms exist for water systems to control impact
climate change
 Reduce electrical use

Remember: 80-90% of water treatment plant electric consumption goes to pumping
 Look beyond just reducing electrical use – be creative!
•
Climate Leaders and other programs like it provide a structured
mechanism for documenting and minimizing GHG emissions
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