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Damien Dupont, Renewable Energy Specialist at Watercare ServicesWatercare, based in Auckland, is the largest organisation providing water and wastewater services in New Zealand. It’s facing growing demands due to an increasing population, the effects of climate change on its operations, while having to continuously improve its processes to face these challenges. As a result, Watercare is proactively taking steps towards managing its energy consumption and costs. This commitment has become even more crucial with the unpredictable volatility of energy prices, posing a significant challenge for Watercare to keep maintaining a high quality of service while keeping prices affordable for its customers.
The company has prioritised sustainability and environmental consciousness, pledging to have net zero carbon emissions by 2050, energy-neutrality at its two major wastewater treatment plants by 2030 and halve its operational greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. It is evident that these targets will not be easily met. They require both innovative thinking and immediate action. One of the primary strategies Watercare is employing to achieve these goals is leveraging solar energy technology.
In the quest for energy neutrality, solar power has emerged as a viable solution. A significant advantage of solar energy is that it is renewable and abundant. Harnessing the sun's power is not subject to the same fluctuations and volatilities that traditional electricity supply is, making it an attractive option for a utility company like Watercare.
Solar energy also aligns with Watercare's carbon-neutral goals. When in operation, solar panels produce electricity without emitting greenhouse gases. Therefore, every kilowatt-hour produced by solar energy is a step towards a more sustainable and greener future.
Watercare has initiated a few projects demonstrating its commitment to solar power. For example, the Rosedale Wastewater Treatment Plant is home to one of Auckland's largest photovoltaic solar arrays. This was the very first floating solar array installed in New Zealand. The array, completed in 2020, comprises 2,688 solar panels, and generates approximately 1.2GWh of electricity annually, offsetting about 140 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year (Ministry of Environment NZ – 2022 Emission Factors Workbook)
To this day, Watercare has already installed six solar arrays, from the northern Auckland region, down to Raglan in Waikato. The total installed capacity is of 1.66 MW. Since the very first kWh produced by solar technology, Watercare has generated a total of 4,563 GWh of energy. To put it in perspective, that amount could power 627 NZ homes for a year. This helped to reduce operational costs by avoiding electricity import from the grid, and has prevented 534 tonnes of CO₂ from being released to the environment (Ministry of Environment NZ – 2022 Emission Factors Workbook)
"The road to sustainability is a challenging one, with many hurdles to overcome. However, the future of utilities powered by renewable energy looks promising"
However, the journey has not been without its hurdles. Some technical challenges arise with the integration of this relatively new form of energy into existing infrastructure. Watercare's facilities, like many water and wastewater utilities, were not originally designed with renewable energy integration in mind, which can make retrofitting a complex process, but still achievable.
Despite these challenges, Watercare remains committed to its solar power journey. The company plans to install more solar arrays at its facilities across Auckland, with a view to significantly increase its solar energy generation capacity, led by a Green Energy Strategy. This plan has identified up to 60GW of potential solar that could be installed. These projects will contribute directly to meeting the company's targets by 2030 and 2050 along with its focus on wastewater process emissions, biogas use, electrical vehicle fleet and removal of natural gas consumption.
Watercare keeps exploring energy storage solutions to maximize the benefits of solar power. By storing excess power produced during the day, the company can utilize it when sunlight is not available, thereby ensuring a consistent and reliable power supply. This has already been implemented into one of our major water network storage reservoirs, particularly to increase resilience and ensure safe water can keep being delivered to Aucklanders, even during a power outage.
Moreover, Watercare currently generates electricity from biogas at two of its wastewater treatment plants and is investigating other renewable energy sources and energy-efficient technologies. In the longer term, these efforts will diversify Watercare's energy portfolio and improve resilience, helping the company manage its energy consumption more effectively and efficiently.
The road to sustainability is a challenging one, with many hurdles to overcome. However, the future of utilities powered by renewable energy looks promising. Through our ongoing commitment to our targets and continuous innovation, Watercare is not only contributing to a greener future but is also helping to control service costs for its customers, making a clear statement that environmental responsibility and financial sustainability can go hand in hand.
