Energy Production & Efficiency

Energy is usually the second-highest cost item of a water utility’s operating budget. Many opportunities exist for the design and operational optimization of electricity use for water supply and treatment. This research area will help utilities establish and maintain a strong institutional knowledge base for energy production, consumption, and management. The value proposition for this research area includes:

The ability to categorize water utilities with similar energy needs could be a first step in creating a platform for utilities to share lessons learned or explore case studies focused on their specific energy requirements.
Long term master planning of best practices associated with energy, understanding how energy can influence long term decisions, and describing methods used to integrate energy into long term utility master plans and critical improvement planning.
This will also help utilities navigate the energy regulatory landscape, understanding regulatory trends such as mandatory organics recycling, and managing uncertainty associated with evolving markets and regulations.
Helping utilities with the optimal use of emerging digital technologies associated with energy, to better monitor and optimize usage, helping offset some of their biggest costs of operating.

The specific objectives of this research area are to:

Create an improved understanding of energy use, production, and optimization in the water sector.
Provide its subscribers with information and products to better leverage their energy production and consumption.