Welsh Water cuts emissions by almost 80%

Welsh Water has announced it has cut its carbon emissions by almost 80 per cent since the beginning of the decade.

The not-for-profit water company said operational emissions had been cut by 79 per cent since 2010-2011, the result of investment in renewable energy generation and energy-efficiency technologies at its sites.

In addition to buying all of its electricity from renewable sources, Welsh Water says it will generate around a quarter of the energy it needs through renewable generation by 2020, with the remaining 75 per cent made of up 100 per cent green electricity.

On Thursday (16 May) Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford visited Welsh Water’s Five Fords Energy Park in Wrexham to see the green projects first-hand.

Five Fords, which houses 10,000 solar panels generating 2.5GW of energy and a gas-to-grid plant, has undertaken a £36 million investment to turn it into a “model green energy site”.

It processes the sewage of around 180,000 customers in north Wales.

The work at the plant is part of “record” capital investment in this financial year and totals more than £450 million, with Welsh Water saying it is on target to invest more than £1.7 billion in the five years to 2020.

Welsh Water chief executive Chris Jones said: “We’re pleased to welcome the first minister to Five Fords to see the work being done to increase our green energy generation and continue our progress in reducing our own carbon footprint.

“In Welsh Water 2050, our long-term vision for the company, we outlined our plans to tackle some of the biggest challenges we face and climate change is one of the most serious.

“As part of this, we are striving to reduce our own impact on the climate, while also strengthening the resilience of our networks to deal with the increasing threat of adverse weather – like extreme cold snaps, flooding and prolonged drought conditions – that can impact our network and the services we provide our customers.

“We have worked closely with Welsh government to set out how we will build on this encouraging progress and we’re delighted the first minister was able to see the fruits of that cooperation first-hand.”

First minister Mark Drakeford said: “I was very pleased to have the opportunity to visit Five Fords Energy Park, and to see the result of the developments which have taken place here making it a pioneer of green energy.

“Investment in sustainable water infrastructure supports the safety of communities, which lies at the heart of our Well-being of Future Generations Act.

“I’d also like to congratulate Welsh Water on cutting its carbon emissions by nearly 80 per cent in the last decade.  This is a great achievement.”