Water firms urged to optimise existing renewables

Water company energy strategies should look beyond investment in new renewable generation assets

Renewable energy is only one component of an integrated energy strategy, and investment in new projects should not be a water company’s sole focus, Welsh Water’s head of energy has told Utility Week.

“We have to make the most of the sites that we’ve already got put in,” Mike Pedley said. “It is very easy to spend money on building new stuff, but we absolutely mustn’t take our eye off the ball of optimising what we’ve got.”

Energy is of paramount importance to water companies, and is the second biggest cost to Welsh Water, after people. The company spent around £43 million on energy in 2015/16.

Energy is also the biggest contributor to operational carbon emissions – around 80 per cent of a water firm’s emissions are energy-related.

In 2015/16, Welsh Water invested £8 million in renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. It generated 21 per cent of the energy it used from renewable sources, and said it is “well on its way” towards reaching its target of 30 per cent by the end of 2020.

The company continues to invest in new renewable energy sites, with a further £10 million planned investment in 2016/17. This money will go towards a combination of wind, hydro, solar and anaerobic digestion projects.

“We’ve got five or six sites currently in the process of being built and made live. We’ve got our second, and certainly our largest, wind turbine due to go live this month,” said Pedley. “We’ve got several new hydro sites currently being built.”

However, Pedley emphasised, it is “not just about” the £millions spent on energy schemes, it is equally important to maximise the energy saving and energy generating opportunities from the more than £300 million a year spent on improving water services.

He drew attention to the importance of making sure everyone throughout the organisation has got the right information and the right motivation to save energy.