{"id":14426,"date":"2016-11-22T11:37:58","date_gmt":"2016-11-22T17:37:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?p=14426"},"modified":"2016-11-22T14:41:25","modified_gmt":"2016-11-22T20:41:25","slug":"why-water-utilities-need-an-energy-plan-and-how-texas-is-making-progress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2016\/11\/22\/why-water-utilities-need-an-energy-plan-and-how-texas-is-making-progress\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Water Utilities Need an Energy Plan \u2013 and How Texas is Making Progress"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"water-tower-1420989568vmu\"When you prepare the Thanksgiving meal, do you ask each person to make a dish of their choosing, with no coordination for an overall cohesive meal? Probably not. Most likely, you plan, because you want everything to fit together.<\/p>\n

Now imagine a water utility with different departments like water quality, finance, and administration. Most water utilities have high energy costs, so each department needs to manage and reduce its energy use \u2013 but typically there\u2019s no plan to synchronize these efforts. With such a piecemeal approach, the utility may get overall energy savings, but it\u2019s not maximizing the potential to meet ambitious efficiency goals or reduce power costs.<\/p>\n

Enter the Energy Management Plan (EMP), a tool that sets up an organization-wide strategy for energy use. By creating a coordinated vision, an EMP establishes clear efficiency goals and gives departments the flexibility and direction for meeting them. That\u2019s what this summer\u2019s EDF Climate Corps fellow focused on at Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD), which supplies water to 2 million users in the Fort Worth area. The TRWD fellow found opportunities where an EMP could improve the utility\u2019s energy efficiency and management, leading to potential savings and less wasted water.<\/p>\n

Roadmap to savings<\/strong><\/p>\n

Energy is a high cost for water utilities. It takes a lot of electricity<\/a> to treat and distribute water, on top of fueling the offices and facilities. In many cities, water-related energy costs can be 30 to 40 percent<\/a> of their total energy bill. With energy efficiency alone, those costs could be lowered by 15 to 30 percent \u2013 representing thousands of dollars. Installing low-water<\/a> clean energy like solar or wind at a water utility could further bring down electricity costs. But these initiatives aren\u2019t going to start themselves.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where an EMP comes in. Basically serving as a road map, an EMP gets all departments working toward the same goal: reducing energy use and costs. It also helps prioritize the most cost-effective projects, such as targeting a high-energy pumping station for equipment upgrades or establishing leak-detection programs to reduce wasted water (and associated wasted energy).<\/p>\n

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Further, when water utilities identify high-energy-use pain points in their systems, it could potentially lead to partnerships with electric utilities, which might even help pay for major energy efficiency projects. As opposed to most water utilities, many electric utilities already have energy efficiency programs and funds dedicated to meeting those goals. But if an electric utility has been offering efficiency programs for years, it may have exhausted the low-hanging fruit and need to explore new options, such as efficiency through water conservation. By pairing up, both the water and electric utilities could maximize available efficiency and water conservation funds, helping each side reduce its energy use. California is a pioneer<\/a> in this type of partnership.<\/p>\n

Protecting our water supplies<\/strong><\/p>\n

Improving energy efficiency can not only lower costs and save energy, but save water too. That\u2019s because many of the resources we currently use to make energy \u2013 like coal and natural gas \u2013 require<\/a> a significant amount of water. The U.S., for instance, gets nearly 90 percent<\/a> of its power from fossil fuel-fired and nuclear power, which accounts for nearly half<\/a> of the country\u2019s total water withdrawals. Therefore, cutting energy use indirectly cuts water use.<\/p>\n

With a changing climate, many cities and areas will face increased water stress<\/a> that could put additional pressure on electric systems. Plus, as the population grows, demand for water and electricity increases. Finding opportunities to protect water supplies \u2013 like through energy and water efficiency \u2013 will be critical.<\/p>\n

Summer study: Texas<\/strong><\/p>\n

TRWD operates more than 150 water facilities, and most of the energy it uses is for moving water from East Texas. The utility is committed to lowering energy costs \u2013 currently there are about a dozen different programs aimed at doing so. Our EDF Climate Corps fellow\u2019s main mission this summer was to develop a plan to streamline operations and consolidate TRWD\u2019s energy achievements and goals into a cohesive energy management plan.<\/p>\n

The fellow\u2019s recommendations included:<\/p>\n