Center for Policy Research in Environment, Energy, and Community
Center Tackles High Energy Costs of Pennsylvania Wastewater Treatment Plants
The Center for Policy Research on Energy, the Environment and Community is analyzing the energy practices of Pennsylvania's wastewater treatment plants as the first step in increasing their operating efficiency.
Water and wastewater treatment plants account for as much as 35 percent of municipalities' total energy use and is second in cost only to operator salaries, said Amy Glasmeier, center director and principal investigator of the project.
"Increased efficiency in these plants can decrease municipal energy consumption and thereby, decrease operating costs," Glasmeier said. "Investments in energy efficiency also reduce pollution and plants' downtime."
Key initiatives include installation and use of more efficient motors and training of operators to manage plants' technology efficiently and accurately, Glasmeier added.
The two-phase project, "Basic Energy Training and Energy Management Planning Program Development for Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants: A Case Study in Pennsylvania," is sponsored by a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission.
Phase 1 involves identifying best-practices for energy efficiency in water and wastewater treatment plants and assessing the efficacy of existing training programs. Phase 2 includes the development of content for a Web-based, high-quality and certificate-oriented training program for operators.
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