Hawaii First Water

Largest water utility in Hawaii to save $56M through energy projects

October: Shimogawa: Pacific Business News.

An energy savings project being done by the Honolulu Board of Water Supply is expected to create 129 jobs, $42.7 million in household income and $3.4 million in state tax revenue during the next two decades, the water board said Monday.

During the 20-year period, the measures are expected to generate $56 million in energy savings.

In March, the semi-autonomous city agency reached an agreement on a $33 million contract with Noresco LLC on energy efficiency, renewable energy and operational improvements for the water board that guarantee enough energy savings during the next 20 years to pay for the contract.  Theproject’s goal is to reduce the water board’s annual electrical usage by about 8 million kilowatt-hours — 9 percent of its total purchased electricity.

This month, the largest water utility in the state is launching the first of a series of energy conservation measures, beginning with energy efficient light replacements, with additional measures such as solar photovoltaic systems being installed at 30 sites and energy efficient air conditioning upgrades at three of its facilities.

See the rest of the story on Hawaii Business Network here…

Big Island’s Puuanahulu water company looks to go solar

By Bret YagerWest Hawaii Today

byager@westhawaiitoday.com

Another West Hawaii water system is looking to alternative energy to cut the costs of pumping fresh water from deep in the island.Napuu Water Inc., which serves residents of the Puuanahulu and Puuwaawaa areas, is eyeing 2 acres of state pasture land to build an 800-panel solar array and storage system. The energy would cut the power bill in half for two 2,500-foot deep groundwater wells.

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See full article in Hawaii Today here

HAWAII ENERGY, DLNR RELEASE TWO NEW HANDBOOKS

29 July 2014: State of Hawaii, DNLR – Two of Hawaii’s leading authorities on water conservation and energy efficiency jointly announce the distribution of two new handbooks written for Hawaii’s water and wastewater utilities that can help save up to 20 percent, or $16.1 million, in electricity costs annually – enough to power 9,400 homes in Hawaii.

Hawaii Energy, the ratepayer-funded energy conservation and efficiency program for Hawaii, Lanai, Maui, Molokai and Oahu, developed the Water & Wastewater Energy Management Best Practices Handbook to help water and wastewater facilities operate with increased energy efficiency.

The State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources’ (DLNR) Commission on Water Resource Management released the Hawaii Water System Audits and Water Loss Control Manual to assist all public water systems in Hawaii to assess their water supply efficiency through water audits and water loss programs.

Hawaii Energy’s Water & Wastewater Energy Management Best Practices Handbook

Water and energy usage are inextricably linked, referred to as the water-energy nexus, due to the significant energy required to transport and treat water and wastewater.

Based on a Hawaii Energy survey conducted in 2013, the state’s public water and wastewater systems consume an estimated 290.3 million kilowatt hours (kWh) per year, which is approximately 3.2 percent of the electric utilities’ total sales.

The generally accepted industry standard for water and wastewater facilities is that energy efficiency measures can generate 20 percent or more in energy savings. For Hawaii, the 20 percent potential savings translate to more than 58 million kWh per year (or $16.1 million) based on an average electricity rate of 28 cents per kWh.

“The handbook is another example of our commitment to increase the adoption of energy conservation and efficiency throughout Hawaii,” said Hawaii Energy Program Director Ray Starling. “The water and wastewater best practices have been proven effective in other parts of the country, are simple to follow and offer a wide spectrum of energy-efficient measures.”

It is written as a practical guide to help water and wastewater management personnel make informed decisions to reduce energy consumption in all aspects of facility operations, repair and investment. It outlines how to develop and assess an energy management program, implement capital and operational improvements to reduce energy usage and track energy performance.

The handbook provides an overview of each energy-efficient best practice and outlines the potential impact on productivity, the economic benefit and potential energy savings. Each practice is presented in a one-page format for easier readability and reference.

Portions of the handbook were developed with the permission of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and Wisconsin’s energy efficiency and renewable resource program, Focus on Energy.

Municipal and private regulated water and wastewater utilities provide service to 95 percent of Hawaii’s population. There are 206 regulated wastewater treatment facilities with a treatment capacity of more than 243 million gallons per day and an average daily flow of 121 million gallons, according to the state Department of Health.

The drinking water sector includes 130 regulated public water supply systems that consist of surface and ground water sources that produce approximately 260 million gallons per day, according to the State of Hawaii Annual Public Water System Compliance Report from 2010.

DLNR’s Hawaii Water System Audits and Water Loss Control Manual

DLNR’s Commission on Water Resource Management funded the development of the Hawaii Water System Audits and Water Loss Control Manual, which was prepared by the Hawaii Rural Water Association.

The commission acknowledged that a water utility’s energy bill is one of its largest operating expenses. By improving water system efficiency, the utility can prevent unnecessary waste, defer costs for new water source development and reduce energy bills.

“The majority of Hawaii’s drinking water comes from groundwater wells that require substantial amounts of electricity to pump out of the ground, into elevated storage reservoirs and then transported to customers,” explained William Tam, deputy director for the Commission on Water Resource Management. “If a lot of water is lost during this process, more energy is needed to pump additional water to compensate for the shortfall. Reducing water loss reduces energy consumption.”

The additional benefits of implementing water audits and water loss control programs include the following: increased knowledge of the water distribution system; reduced water loss by identifying problem/risk areas; efficient use of existing supplies; less legal liabilities and minimal service disruptions to customers.

The manual was developed based on the International Water Association’s (IWA) and the America Water Works Association’s (AWWA) “IWA/AWWA Water Audit Methodology.” The methodology was selected based on its research, industry acceptance, simplicity, adaptability and standardized performance indicators.

The manual was adopted from the Georgia Water System Audits and Loss Control Manual (September 2011, Version 1.0) with permission from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Georgia Environmental Protection Division and Georgia Watershed Protection Branch.

In April 2014, the commission conducted water audit training workshops in the four counties for drinking water utilities. Future workshops may be held based on interest. Water audits are not required in Hawaii. However, the commission is evaluating the implications of requiring water audits in the future.

Downloadable Versions
Hawaii Energy’s Water & Wastewater Energy Management Best Practices Handbook can be downloaded by visiting www.HawaiiEnergy.com/water-and-wastewater. For more information, call 839-8800 on Oahu or toll-free at (877) 231-8222 on the neighbor islands.

To download the Hawaii Water System Audits and Water Loss Control Manual, visit the commission’s water conservation website at www.dlnr.hawaii.gov/cwrm/planning/conservation.
For more information, call (808) 587-0214.

# # #

About Hawaii Energy
Hawaii Energy is the ratepayer-funded energy conservation and efficiency program administered by Leidos Engineering, LLC, under contract with the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission, serving the islands of Hawaii, Lanai, Maui, Molokai and Oahu. Hawaii Energy offers cash rebates and other incentives to residents and businesses to help offset the cost of installing energy-efficient equipment. In addition to rebates, the program conducts education and training for residents, businesses and trade allies to encourage the adoption of energy conservation behaviors and efficiency measures. The program plays an important role in helping to achieve Hawaii’s goal of reducing total electric energy usage by 30 percent or 4.3 billion kWh by 2030. For more information, visit www.HawaiiEnergy.com.

The Commission on Water Resource Management
The Commission on Water Resource Management (Commission) administers the State Water Code, which was created by the 1987 Hawaii State Legislature. The commission’s general mission is to protect and enhance the water resources of the State of Hawaii through wise and responsible management. There are a total of seven members on the Commission.

The commission is attached to the State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources. Under the general direction of the Deputy Director for Water Resource Management, the staff provides administrative and technical support services to the Commission. The staff’s primary responsibilities are to implement and administer the provisions of the State Water Code by planning, surveying, regulating, monitoring, and conserving the state’s water resources within established plans that have been adopted by the commission. For more information, visit http://dlnr.hawaii.gov/cwrm.

Media contacts:

Rob Deveraturda
Hawaii Energy
(808) 839-8824
rob.deve@leidos.com

Deborah Ward
Department of Land and Natural Resources
(808) 587-0320
Deborah.L.Ward@hawaii.gov

no reason: A World on the Verge of Water Bankruptcy

Reaching the Epiphany Moment, Video Makes Water Crisis Clear

Can irony help explain the global fresh water crisis? no reason, a Circle of Blue video, describes in surprising images and unlikely pacing the roles water and water scarcity play in the global economy. It debuted at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland and was shown as United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon introduced the WEF’s water sessions.

“We took a different approach to illuminating the topic,” said Eric Daigh, the film’s producer. “In the video we step sideways and do something that connects with people in new ways. We all know how many people lack access to safe fresh water. We all know how many die each year from dirty water. But we need to have the epiphany moment, to grasp the interaction between water and agriculture, the economy, culture and conflict.”

 

See the Circle of Blue Video

Opportunities for Synergies in Water and Energy Infrastructure

(Asian Water Magazine: April 2014)

An array of opportunities exists to co-produce energy and water services and to exploit the benefits of synergies.  However, the current political and economic incentive system favors independent sectoral outcomes over cross sectional results.  Sustainable solutions require a systems approach of integrated solutions rather than addressing issues in isolation.

Water and energy issues should be addressed holistically, as the optimal solution for one can have negative impacts on the other. Such common solutions can be achieved only if there is communication between sectors, and if the right incentives are in place. In addition to new technical solutions, new political and economic frameworks need to be designed to promote cooperation among sectors and integrated planning.

For example, given the different uses of dams, hydropower sustainability can be improved through integrated water and energy planning and management. Most thermal power plants require large amount of water to dissipate the excess produced heat (“waste heat”) to the environment. Therefore, the siting of power plants should take into account their interaction with water resources, water facilities and other sectors that compete for water supplies. There are also ways to utilize waste heat and thus decrease the amount of water needed for cooling as explained in the examples below.

Wastewater treatment plants can generate energy from sludge produced at the plant. Another opportunity to mitigate nexus trade offs is to improve water and energy efficiency and conservation. Improving efficiency in the water domain saves energy for treatment and supply and therefore reduces the amount of water needed by the power sector. When the power sector shifts towards a more efficient operation, less water is used as less waste heat will have to be dissipated.

Thus, policies and integrated plans that encourage energy and water conservation can reduce future energy and water requirements.

see full article at www.asianwater.com.my/

 

 

Storing Green Electricity as Natural Gas

Reuters May 5, 2010 — Renewable electricity can be transformed into a substitute for natural gas. Until now, electricity was generated from gas. Now, a German-Austrian cooperation wants to go in the opposite direction. In the future, these researchers and entrepreneurs would like to store surplus electricity — such as from wind power or solar energy — as climate-neutral methane, and store it in existing gas storage facilities and the natural gas network.

460589979Throughout the world, electricity generation is based more and more on wind and solar energy. So far, the missing link for integrating renewable energy into the electricity supply is a smart power storage concept. Because when the wind is blowing powerfully, wind turbines generate more electricity than the power grid can absorb. Now, German researchers have succeeded in storing renewable electricity as natural gas. They convert the electricity into synthetic natural gas with the aid of a new process. The process was developed by the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW), in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology IWES. Currently, Solar Fuel Technology, the Austria-based partner company, is setting up the industrial implementation of the process. One advantage of the technology:it can use the existing natural gas infrastructure. A demonstration system built on behalf of Solar Fuel in Stuttgart is already operating successfully. By 2012, a substantially larger system — in the double-digit megawatt range — is planned to be launched.

For the first time, the process of natural gas production combines the technology for hydrogen-electrolysis with methanisation. “Our demonstration system in Stuttgart separates water from surplus renewable energy using electrolysis. The result is hydrogen and oxygen,” explains Dr. Michael Specht of ZSW. “A chemical reaction of hydrogen with carbon dioxide generates methane — and that is nothing other than natural gas, produced synthetically.”

With the rapid expansion of renewable energies, the need for new storage technologies grows massively. This is of special interest for energy utilities and power companies. “So far, we converted gas into electricity. Now we also think in the opposite direction, and convert electricity into ‘real natural’ gas,” explains Dr. Michael Sterner of Fraunhofer IWES, who is investigating engineering aspects and energy system analysis of the process. “Surplus wind and solar energy can be stored in this manner. During times of high wind speeds, wind turbines generate more power than is currently needed. This surplus energy is being more frequently reflected at the power exchange market through negative electricity prices.” In such cases, the new technology could soon keep green electricity in stock as natural gas or renewable methane.

“Within the development of this technology, ZSW has been guided by two core issues,” explains Michael Specht: “Which storage systems offer sufficient capacity for fluctuating renewable energies that depend on the wind and weather? And which storage systems can be integrated into the existing infrastructure the easiest?”

The storage reservoir of the natural gas network extending through Germany is vast: It equals more than 200 terawatt hours — enough to satisfy consumption for several months. The power network has only a capacity of 0.04 terawatt hours by itself. The integration into the infrastructure is simple: The natural gas substitute can be stored like conventional natural gas in the supply network, pipelines and storage systems, in order to drive natural gas cars or fire natural gas heating systems.

The new technology aims at facilitating the integration of high shares of fluctuating power generation from renewable energies into the energy system. One goal is to structure the delivery of power from wind parks on a scheduled and regular basis. “The new concept is a game changer and a new significant element for the integration of renewable energies into a sustainable energy system,” adds Sterner. The efficiency of converting power to gas equals more than 60 percent. “In our opinion, this is definitely better than a total loss,” says Michael Specht. A total loss looms if, for instance, wind power has to be curtailed. The predominant storage facility to date — pumped hydro power plants — can only be expanded to a limited extent in Germany.

In order to push the new energy conversion technology forward, the two German research institutes have joined together with the company Solar Fuel Technology of Salzburg. Starting in 2012, they intend to launch a system with a capacity of approximately 10 megawatt.