Water & Wastewater Treatment

www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | DECEmBER 2015 | 21 Project focus Energy and water Community solar power deal for South West Water Project focus S outh West Water has boosted its renewable energy generation and saved money thanks to a deal with a local community group to supply solar-generated power through a private wire connection at a treatment works near Bodmin in Cornwall. Nanstallon Sewage Treatment Works is now being supplied with power from a 100kW solar array following the project, which was ● Private wire connection at sewage treatment works near Bodmin ● Community-owned solar array boosts renewables generation ● Feed-in-Tariff removal may put damper on future deals ● South West Water is committed to increasing the proportion of its energy sourced from renewables to 20% - representing around 50GwH – by 2020 ● Working with a 3rd party via a private wire connection and power purchase agreement (PPA) means it can do this even where there is no space to develop generation on-site, and without using its own capital ● Community-owned groups are particularly good partners as they can o en access funding and use a not-for-profit business model which benefits the community • Drivers electricity. South West Water currently meets 10% of its energy needs from renewable sources, and is pursuing a target of 20% by 2020. Solar installations play a significant role in this effort, as Ray Arrell, Renewable Energy Engineer at South West Water, explains. "Our philosophy with renewables at South West Water is to have on-site generation for on-site use, scaled appropriately for our energy needs," said Arrell. "We already have 35 solar installations, with most of those being 50kW arrays, ranging up to 220kW at our head office. "Private wire PPAs have great potential within that strategy. It's a low capital, low carbon route to adding renewables volume which makes sense for sites with limited space. In this case, it has enabled us to work with a community group in a really collaborative approach." South West Water made clear its interest in partnering with community groups on sites where there was no space to develop its own generating capability; the company was introduced to WREN by Regen SW, an advice centre on sustainable energy for organisations in the region. A not-for-profit co-operative run by volunteers, WREN has 1,100 members and promotes micro-generation and energy efficiency initiatives locally. It was set up to "turn energy from an individual cost into a collective asset," according to WREN operations manager Dominic Comonte. "In our area we spend around £13M a year on energy and all of that benefit leaves our local community, completed in September with the Wadebridge Renewable Energy Network (WREN). The photovoltaic (PV) solar array, which was financed and built by WREN, is situated on a field adjacent to the works, on land that the organisation has leased from a local farmer. South West Water will purchase the energy under a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) at a price that is cheaper than it would otherwise pay for its delivered JAmeS BroCkett EDIToR WATER & WASTEWATER TREATmENT WREN's Dominic Comonte (le ) and SWW's Ray Arrell (far right) at the installation's launch

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