Energy Efficiency Forum enters last day
PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 29, 2000 -- In his keynote address during the Energy Efficiency Forum, Benjamin Franklin on Monday offered the opinion that there was no more essential business in the world than the business of water and sanitation.
The address was part of a three-day, narrowly targeted conference hosted by WaterWorld Magazine and PennWell Corporation, with latest research on conserving energy from a water or wastewater utility's perspective. The conference, now in its third year, also includes exhibits on products for more energy-efficient water and wastewater systems.
Franklin, played by impersonator Ralph Archbold, was at the conference to discuss the virtues of change, an apt topic for an event centered around making systems more energy-efficient.
"Part of the excitement of life is making changes," Franklin remarked. He related his experience with the American revolutionary time as an example of how a group of people who care about changing a situation should practice mutual respect, communication and cooperation.
"When we understand the questions they've asked, then maybe together we can understand the answers," he said. "The seeds of ingenuity, the seeds of cooperation are within you. But my friends, if you do not plant them, they will not grow."
In addition to his presentation, Franklin also attended Monday evening's Liberty Bell Reception, sponsored by Powerware Solutions ( http://www.powerwaresolutions.com/). The reception included local Philadelphia foods, live music, a serving wench and a prestidigitator (magician).
Archbold has performed at conferences and events all over the country, including The Today Show and Good Morning America.
Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, under the contract operation of United Water, received the Innovative Energy Management Award Monday for saving millions of dollars per year in energy costs, according to James Laughlin, EEF conference chairman.
Laughlin, editor in chief of WaterWorld Magazine, presented the trophy to Milwaukee (MMSD).
The 10-year United Water contract, which began in March 1998, will result in $140 million savings over the term and has already contributed to a 16 percent rate decrease for its facilities, said Antonio Riley, Commissioner for Milwaukee.
Building on MMSD's first approach in providing energy to the facilities at an annual cost of $9.2 million, United Water has reduced the facilities energy cost by more than 20 percent annually and will recognize even lower costs as the innovative strategy more fully evolves.
The cogeneration facility at Jones Island generates 30 megawatts of power, Riley said.
Jones Island WWTP uses activated sludge processes for the treatment of waste streams. The Jones Island WWTP treats an average daily flow of 125 million gallons per day (MGD) with a maximum capacity of 390 MGD, said John Cheslik, Assistant Project Manager for the United Water Milwaukee Project.
Since the 1920s, the Jones Island plant has been marketing its biosolids product under the brand name Milorganite. Milorganite is a dry, Class A, granular fertilizer rich in nitrogen and iron. Each year, from 50,000 to 60,000 tons of the product are shipped throughout the country. Milorganite is processed from a mixture of primary, secondary, and digested solids, and the process uses quite a bit of energy -- nearly 1,500,000 pounds of water need to be removed from the product per day.
A cogeneration system built in 1975 consists of two 15 MW natural gas combustion turbine generators and waste heat ducting to the sludge dryers. A diesel fuel system was also installed as a secondary feed system to the turbines.
Other important changes that were made:
- Restructuring the gas commodity supply contracts to establish tiered supply levels,
- Rationalizing the firm transportation service on the interstate pipeline system,
- Using natural gas futures contracts and call options to help stabilize commodity prices,
- Optimizing gas-fuel oil pricing spread opportunities,
- Optimizing electric power supply pricing, and
- More active management of the energy supply and sales.
The project also will be featured in the September issue of WaterWorld Magazine. For more information about MMSD, visit the web site at www.mmsd.com/about/about.html.
In technical sessions Monday, speakers reviewed the impact of deregulation, the benefits of uninterruptible power, forming consortiums of industry members, recordkeeping and other methods of improving energy savings.
Deregulation could arguably be called "reregulation" because of some recent developments, but no matter what it is called, deregulation in the electric industry may follow the same path as the telecommunications industry, according to Gary Davis, Director of water/wastewater services for Environmental Science & Engineering. However, the best way to save energy in a deregulated environment is to closely monitor electricity use.
Uninterruptible power could be the most powerful tool the utility has for making special rate deals with the power utility, said Larry Moster, Assistant Treatment Superintendant for Cincinnati Water Works. Being able to go off electric service during peak hours should allow plants to get special pricing structures and may be the best way to save money on energy use, he said.
Moster also provided examples of recordkeeping to save on energy costs. For the five largest pumping sites (which represent 86% of energy usage), CWW has installed continuous monitors for electric demand and usage that report through the utility's SCADA system, alerting workers in the control room that total use is too high for the time period's goal.
A related way to save energy is reduction of use during off-peak times. For example, Cincinnati increases pumping during off-peak hours to build up water in elevated storage towers, then limits pump use during peak times. Gravity brings the water through the system from the towers, further reducing the need for power.
Consortiums of industry members can make use of aggregate pricing, said William Pearce, V.P. Engineering for the New Jersey-American Water Co. After evaluating several consortiums, New Jersey-American Water joined the Business and Industry Consortium.
Utilities may not realize how much energy can be saved by maintaining equipment and repairing leaks in the distribution system, said James Brady, Hydraulic Investigations Engineer for the Philadelphia Water Dept. In addition to optimizing its existing system, the Philadelphia Water Dept. has also cracked down on illegal hydrant usage, conducted a water conservation education program and operated pumps off-peak.
Getting help you can get from some agencies in the form of energy audits and advice can often be free, according to Doug Pike of the City of Ginett and James Miller of the Borough of Somerset. They work part-time as members of the Energy Team in a Pennsylvania outreach program for the Department of Environmental Protection. The Energy Team offers energy or pollution audits, initial recommendations and data analysis free of charge to industries that want to reduce their power use or pollution.
For example, Miller said, Greenfield Township, which has a single batch reactor plant, found that it could reduce the number of hours per day that the UV lamps were operating, switch to gas heating, change its aeration mixers, use fine bubble diffusers, be more judicious about pumping times, and use generators.
To finish out the conference, technical sessions will continue today from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Attendees will discuss such topics as pumping system efficiency, energy management, motors, drives and pumps, aeration upgrades, on-site generation and energy optimization.
Debra McCarty, Manager of Philadelphia's wastewater treatment plants, had some clarifications to add about Philadelphia's Southwest Water Pollution Control plant tour:
- The Archimedes screw pumps handle about 10% of the plant's flow. The plant treats about 40% of the flow from the city and surrounding areas.
- The overall budget for the 3 facilities is $26 million ($10-$11 million just for Southwest).
- The overall electric budget for the 3 facilities is about $6 million.
- The electric feed is two 13,200 Kv lines to each plant.
- The sludge going into the digesters is 4-5% solids. Coming out of the digesters and going to the Biosolids Recycling Center it is 2-2.5% solids. That facility can handle 60,000 tons per year of material. It produces Earthmate (compost), sludge cake for agricultural use, a combination of sludge cake and compost for strip mine reclamation; and some of it is landfilled.
More information: Complete details about the conference are at http://ww.pennnet.com/home/events.cfm. For more information, call conference coordinator Marvetta McNeel at +1-918-831-9500 or e-mail: [email protected].
