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Severn Trent Water (SVT) has installed its third solar array at one of its water treatment works near Birmingham, as part of its plan to generate half of its own power from renewables by 2020.
The 550kW array, which cost the company £600,000, is the third to be built. The firm said it aims to have around 40 similar arrays up and running at its sites by the end of March.
Once the programme is complete, SVT will focus on anaerobic digestion (AD) from waste, food and crops as its primary source of renewable electricity.
The company currently generates about a third of its own electricity from renewable sources including solar, wind and from existing AD facilities.
SVT head of energy and renewables Paul Baxter said: “ Solar arrays such as this help us to take advantage of what is effectively spare land at many of our sites while also allowing us to generate our own renewable power, so reducing our emissions and our power bills.”
The water industry is one of the most energy intensive, requiring huge amounts for pumping, water treatment and waste management – with wastewater processes using about half of the total operational energy.
Greenhouse gas emissions from the operational side of the water sector are approximately 0.7 per cent of the total UK emissions.
Many water companies have decided to up their renewable energy generation to offset the impacts of high energy prices, to use resources such as sludge efficiently and to increase revenue through the Renewable Obligation (RO).
The government announced cuts to the RO for solar and onshore wind last year, which water companies have said could affect their investment in renewable energy and stall projects that are in the pipeline.
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