Water & Wastewater Treatment

www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | March 2015 | 23 T he energy team at Wessex Water recently installed the company's first rooop solar PV electricity generating system, at Sutton Bingham Water Treatment Works. The 50 kW scheme was approved by the board, tendered, installed, commissioned and had the Feed in Tariff (FIT) application approved within two months, all prior to the FIT deadline of 31 December 2014. Wessex Water aims to be a carbon neutral company, and has set a target of generating 30% of its own energy from renewable sources by 2020. Consistently high energy prices and increasing taxes are a few of the Water and energy Sutton Bingham WTW harnesses solar power Project focus ● First roo op solar panel installation for Wessex Water ● 50 kW photovoltaic system boasts 192 panels ● Five-year payback period expected, helping to meet renewable energy goals Julia Clarke EnErgy gEnEraTion analysT WEssEx WaTEr ● Wessex Water has a target of generating 30% of its own energy from re- newable sources by 2020 ● Solar photovoltaic systems offered attrac- tive generation capability compared to their capital cost ● The system needed to operate as close as possi- ble to 50kW, to be eligible for the optimal Feed in Tariff (FIT) • Drivers portfolio as a means of increasing renewable energy generation. Smaller scale technologies and lower capital cost sources of energy generation were investigated. Solar photovoltaic appeared to have the greatest benefits due to the low environmental and local impact, quick installation and most beneficial use of developed land. Rooop options were preferred over ground mounted, due to the limited available space on operational sites and fewer planning restrictions. The business case for solar PV was helped by the Feed in Tariff (FIT) which largely depends on the size of the array and time by which it was installed. Solar panels are expected to last at least 25 years, and come with a warranty which guarantees the output to be >90% for the first 12 years and >80% over the next 13 years, and therefore is considered to be a good investment. The Wessex Water energy team, a dedicated resource for energy ef- ficiency, data and billing accuracy and small scale renewables, were responsible for the project. The team selected Sutton Bingham water treatment works out of the 2,545 sites consuming electricity for the follow- ing reasons: • Sutton Bingham has a consistently high baseload of >100 kW during hours of daylight and therefore is able to displace the PV generated to take full advantage of avoiding rising electricity costs • The local electricity grid had the capacity to increase the export agreement to account for maximum generation with no site load in case of power downs • The site's Energy Performance Cer- tificate (EPC) was level D or above A roo op installation was judged suitable at Sutton Bingham, which is near Yeovil reasons why the company is turning to renewable energy to power opera- tional sites. Wessex Water and subsidiary company GENeco already generate electricity from hydro turbines and combined heat and power (CHP) fuelled with sewage gas and food waste gas. In 2014, 38.5 GWh of re- newable electricity was generated and used on Wessex Water's operational sites. Why Photovoltaic? Previous to the Sutton Bingham PV scheme, the company had concen- trated on the development of the CHP

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