Can Solar Power Cut Energy Use at Wastewater Plants

Public health is of vital concern to both individuals and communities, with the topic of water being at the forefront of these conversations. However, these concerns shouldn't end with ensuring clean, safe drinking water. The treatment of wastewater has a profound impact on public health. 

Cleaning wastewater is also energy-intensive, requiring aeration, pumping, and solids handling. Not only are energy-intensive wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) costly to maintain, but energy consumption also has a direct impact on public health, prompting essential conversations (and innovations) in renewable-powered WWTPs.    

Solar power is making the greatest headway in this area, including integrating photovoltaic (PV) solar power with battery energy storage systems (BESS). The solar-plus-storage model reduces energy consumption while making WWTP facilities and operations more resilient.

Applying Solar Power to WWTP Energy Systems

Intelligently applying solar power to WWTP energy management requires a thorough understanding of wastewater treatment processes themselves. For example, it's important to know how clarifiers work to separate sediment from wastewater; removing these particles early in the treatment process leads to better wastewater quality. 

This understanding leads to more informed decisions about renewable WWTP energy solutions like solar-powered aeration systems that pump oxygen into treatment tanks to support the biological process (or digestion) of waste.

PV (solar panel) systems generate the majority of power during sunlight hours. This renewable energy production also coincides with WWTPs' peak daily demand for oxygen and aeration loads. Solar installations can directly power these daytime operations, reducing the amount of grid electricity for lower operational costs.

Leveraging Renewable Energy Storage

To further optimize cost management, any excess renewable energy generated from solar panels during the day can be stored in a BESS. Stored energy can be used to power WWTP loads and other operations when solar power generation is low on cloudy days or evening shifts. Therefore, WWTPs can still maintain cost savings around the clock.

Managing Utility Demand Charges

Utility companies often apply high fees to WWTP operations, also known as demand charges. These fee structures are based on peak energy usage, or spikes, during a given billing period. These surges comprise a large portion of a commercial industrial energy bill. 

To cut down on energy grid spikes, a WWTP can program a BESS system to utilize stored solar power during peak demands for energy. Optimizing storage helps facilities lower demand spikes on the grid, leading to lower monthly utility bills. 

WWTP operation teams can also leverage load shifting to further optimize cost management. 

Essentially, load shifting charges the BESS battery during off-peak hours when electricity rates are at their lowest and utilizes that stored energy during peak hours. This strategy "shifts" energy loads away from the grid to reduce costs. Optimizing this strategy with solar power can lead to significant cost savings. 

Improve WWTP Operations With Renewable Energy 

Leveraging solar power and BESS storage systems also boosts facility resilience during potential power outages or grid disruptions. Reducing reliance on the energy grid by integrating solar power improves energy independence, which benefits cost management and community public health. These components work together to ensure that critical infrastructures like WWTPs maintain operation without compromising community resilience.