NEMA finds energy savings possible for urban water utilities.
Press Release Summary:
According to recent study commissioned by NEMA, significant energy and water savings in the water utility sector are both possible and financially viable. Increasing Energy Efficiency in Urban Water Systems: Summary Report points out that challenges of ownership and decision-making processes, as well as lengthy planning-to-execution timelines, may not make detailed energy-savings estimates as useful to increasing product sales as initially believed.
Original Press Release:
NEMA Finds Significant Energy Savings Possible for Urban Water Utilities
Electrical manufacturers release first-of-its-kind study of electricity use in urban water sourcing, treatment, and delivery sectors
ROSSLYN, Va., —Significant energy and water savings in the water utility sector are both possible and financially viable, according to a recent study on opportunities for energy efficiency in urban water supply systems, commissioned by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA). Increasing Energy Efficiency in Urban Water Systems: Summary Report provides results and analysis conducted by NEMA, with GEI Consultants Inc., an experienced water consultancy. The study points out that challenges of ownership and decision-making processes, as well as lengthy planning-to-execution timelines, may not make detailed energy-savings estimates as useful to increasing product sales as initially believed.
“While there have been some macro-level examinations of this sector, NEMA’s component-level energy study appears to be the first of its kind,” said NEMA President and CEO Kevin Cosgriff. Since there are more than 50,000 water utilities in the U.S. of varying age, capacity, and material status, NEMA targeted the use of electricity in water sourcing, treatment, and delivery sectors. Because individual modernization efforts and examination of energy consumption and water movement are site-specific, no central database of component-level energy savings currently information exists.
“The summary report affirms that there is clear indication of an opportunity for metering and for control- and software-based management systems,” said Cosgriff. “And we heard loud and clear that utilities want to know more about available energy-saving products and workforce development resources.”
NEMA worked with manufacturing experts among its membership, as well as volunteers from the Hydraulic Institute and the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials, and sourced hundreds of existing reports and studies from federal and state sources. Technical and financial analysts used these resources to investigate energy consumption, water throughput and consumption, and related energy-water metrics.
The 2015 study included a literature review; the examination and documentation of federal and state financial and incentive programs; a survey of water utilities to gather data on utility operations, approval processes, and, where possible, detailed energy consumption; and data analysis to determine opportunities for greater efficiency through modernization and how they could be incentivized, proposed, approved, and, to some degree, implemented.
The report is available for download on the NEMA website, as well as a glossary of terms used in the water sector. The companion white papers, Market Potential for Electricity Efficiency in Urban Water Systems and Use of Performance Contracts for Advancing Efficiency in Water Infrastructure, are available for purchase for $27 and $70, respectively.
National Electrical Manufacturers Association
www.NEMA.org
