Energy Data Management Manual for the Wastewater Treatment Sector

Technical Report · Fri Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 2017

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1432164· OSTI ID:1432164

Lemar, Paul ^[1]; De Fontaine, Andre ^[2]

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1. Resource Dynamics Corporation, McLean, VA (United States)
2. Dept. of Energy (DOE), Washington DC (United States)

Energy efficiency has become a higher priority within the wastewater treatment sector, with facility operators and state and local governments ramping up efforts to reduce energy costs and improve environmental performance. Across the country, municipal wastewater treatment plants are estimated to consume more than 30 terawatt hours per year of electricity, which equates to about $2 billion in annual electric costs. Electricity alone can constitute 25% to 40% of a wastewater treatment plant’s annual operating budget and make up a significant portion of a given municipality’s total energy bill. These energy needs are expected to grow over time, driven by population growth and increasingly stringent water quality requirements. The purpose of this document is to describe the benefits of energy data management, explain how it can help drive savings when linked to a strong energy management program, and provide clear, step-by-step guidance to wastewater treatment plants on how to appropriately track energy performance. It covers the basics of energy data management and related concepts and describes different options for key steps, recognizing that a single approach may not work for all agencies. Wherever possible, the document calls out simpler, less time-intensive approaches to help smaller plants with more limited resources measure and track energy performance. Reviews of key, publicly available energy-tracking tools are provided to help organizations select a tool that makes the most sense for them. Finally, this document describes additional steps wastewater treatment plant operators can take to build on their energy data management systems and further accelerate energy savings.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1432164
• Report Number(s): ORNL/SPR-2018/14
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION