Harnessing energy from the sun is just one option ISD has been exploring as the district looks for new long-term ways to save money for ratepayers. Experts predict that over the next couple of decades, energy costs will rise anywhere from 3 percent to 10 percent annually. That trend harbors the potential to increase ISD’s annual power costs from the current $600,000 to $2.4 million or more each year as we look 25 years into the future. Clearly the time to plan is now.
In March, ISD held separate workshops in Bethel Island and Oakley to explore the possible benefits of using solar energy to offset future energy costs. The workshops talked about the cost of adding solar panels along with advantages, disadvantages and energy savings potential, as well as the consequences of doing nothing.
Ratepayers who attended the workshops were in agreement that now is a good time for ISD to look into energy saving alternatives. The ISD Board of Directors would like to thank the ratepayers that participated in the workshops.
At their April meeting, the directors decided to continue to look into solar energy and incentive programs, but postponed signing up for a special financing program that would have required the district to begin paying an additional $300,000 in annual loan payments starting in October 2012, approximately two years prior to producing any energy savings.
Board members decided to further research solar financing and incentive options in addition to possibly fine-tuning some aspects of the new Water Recycling Facility. The board however feels that solar power should continue to be a priority for the district.
Adding 1 megawatt of solar panels could save 35 percent or more on the current PG&E bill, and as energy costs increase the savings could eventually amount to millions of dollars.
Besides the significant cost savings, using solar power would offer other benefits. A largely unlimited renewable energy source, solar cells are “quiet” collectors. Built close to ground level, their low profile hides them from homes and highways. The panels are reliable, with lifetime productivity estimates of more than 30 years. There are currently many incentives to help pay for the systems, and solar power installation is at its lowest cost right now.
Some disadvantages to solar power include the high cost of the panels themselves, estimated at $5 million per megawatt. Panel efficiency can be compromised by clouds, pollution or windblown dust. Another consideration is that it may take a decade or more until the panels show a consistent positive annual return. Other factors include panel replacement, repair and maintenance costs as well as the chance of vandalism.
While the panels eat up a lot of space, ISD has ample buffer lands near its Water Recycling Facility to minimize this concern.
Improved energy efficiencies realized with the fall opening of ISD’s Water Recycling Facility have resulted in a $280,000 PG&E rebate for the district and its customers.
PG&E’s Andrea Schumer presented a giant sized ceremonial check — as well as an official cashier’s check for $280,199 — at a recent district board meeting. The rebate is on top of the everyday real energy cost savings that come from building a technologically advanced and award-winning, energy-efficient facility.
“While your engineers designed the new plant, you collaborated with PG&E engineers to build an energy-efficient facility that far exceeded expectations,” Schumer said.
She went on to say that the district’s new facility would save more than 2.7 million kilowatt hours annually, with 336 kilowatts occurring during peak energy demand. The savings is enough to provide power for about 424 homes a year.
The energy savings was achieved in part through the use of technologically advanced turbo blowers that were fresh on the market at the time of the plant’s construction. The high efficiency 200- and 300-horsepower turbo blowers are used to provide air for the membrane basins and the aeration basins, respectively, which are integral steps in treating water at the new facility. Other energy savings were realized through the use of energy-efficient pumps, motors, and controllers.
“The original design went through several transitions over the years of planning, designing and building as new technologies became available,” said ISD engineer Jenny Skrel, who designed the facility from scratch. “We took advantage of every cost saving and energy-efficient development we could find.”
Schumer said that PG&E hopes to use ISD’s facility as an example to others. “We’re talking about making it a case study for other wastewater facilities in the future,” she said.
ISD General Manager Tom Williams said ratepayers will reap the benefit of the rebate as a credit on next year’s annual sewer service charge, as well as through ongoing savings from the plant’s energy-efficient equipment.
ISD recently got to show off the district’s new Water Recycling Facility technology at a California Association of Sanitation Agencies convention in Palm Springs. The district was invited to give the presentation after the plant last year won a CASA award for technological innovation. At the January event, ISD General Manager Tom Williams and engineer Jenny Skrel gave a slide show and spoke about the cost-saving methods the district used.
Last fall ISD launched a pilot program to collect and recycle residential kitchen fats, oils and grease (FOG) that would normally get poured down the drain, thrown in the trash or even occasionally poured down storm drains and sanitary sewer manholes.
With two grease drop-off days during the holiday season, ISD collected nearly 300 gallons of kitchen and turkey fryer grease, showing that residents of Oakley and Bethel Island would utilize a regular local drop-off site.
In February, ISD began offering weekday drop-off service of household kitchen grease at its Oakley offices. The drop-off station allows residents to bring in their grease Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. In the future the district plans occasional Saturday events where FOG drop-offs can be made.
The next Saturday FOG drop off day will be April 28 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This is the same day as the “Science in Action!” Oakley Science Week event hosted by ISD.
The household grease the district is collecting will be picked up by a company that recycles it into biofuel for use in school buses, said Tom Williams, ISD’s general manager.
Throwing any kind of cooking fat down the drain can clog pipes and wind up costing homeowners a lot of money. If the grease makes its way past the homeowner’s pipes, it could eventually clog the public sewer mains. Those pipes’ contents overflow out a manhole and into storm drains on the way to the Delta.
“We have a responsibility as the sanitary district to prevent sanitary sewer overflows from occurring,” Williams said. “We hope these collections will give people alternatives to getting rid of the unwanted grease.”
Williams is pleased that so much grease was collected in the holiday drop-off days and knows that there is still a lot more out there that can be recycled on a regular basis.
For details on the FOG program call ISD at 925-625-2279 or see the district’s website at www.ironhousesanitarydistrict.com.
For the past few years we’ve been asking customers to do their part to help ISD reduce salt levels in the waste stream, and you have risen to the task. With the help of ratepayers, ISD continues to meet tough California state water quality regulations.
Recent tests for Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), an indicator of the salts entering ISD’s Water Recycling Facility, found levels in 2011 lower by more than 13 percent from 2008 levels, the peak year for salts. This is good news especially because ISD’s new facility, opened last October, is discharging part of its recycled water into the San Joaquin River.
In the coming months, ISD will be renewing its river and land discharge permits and the continued salt reduction efforts are important to remain within state law.
State regulators have determined that if too much salt enters the Delta waters, the environment and wildlife can suffer. Among the key contributors to increased salt levels are automatic water softeners, which generate wastewater, and therefore, recycled water, high in concentrated salts.
Water softeners that refresh themselves by discharging directly into the sewer system should be avoided. Instead, homeowners can consider employing softeners that use portable exchange cylinders or which are maintained by a professional cleaning service. Salt collected in these types of water softeners is not discharged down the drain.
Even better, water softeners can be disconnected altogether to keep extra salt out of the sewer system.
You can also help by using liquid instead of powdered laundry soap. Use dryer sheets instead of liquid laundry softeners. And if you mop, use mopping pads instead of old-style floor cleaners.
Even simple conservation, putting less water down the drain, will reduce salts that run through the water recycling facility.
Be careful before flushing baby wipes down the toilet. Most cannot safely be flushed because they are not biodegradable. ISD maintenance crews make 15 to 20 trips a month to repair pumps that have become clogged by so-called disposable wipes. Clogs can leave the homeowner with a nasty repair bill, or lead to rate increases to repair or replace public sanitary equipment. Please dispose of these wipes in trash cans rather than toilets.