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UTILITY WEEK | 2ND - 8TH SEPTEMBER 2016 | 19 Operations & Assets cent of its electricity by 2020, and already generates some of its own electricity renew- ably from sewage and solar panels. It generated a total of 12.5 per cent of its electricity requirements from renewable sources in 2014/15 – a 4 per cent increase on the year before. Thames also has an energy efficienc y programme, which focuses on lighting man- agement and pumping efficiency. By upgrad- ing its pumping stations, the company saved 889 MWh of electricity in 2009/10. United Utilities In 2015/16, United Utilities' carbon footprint was 454,857 tonnes of CO2 equivalent, 22 per cent below its 2005/06 baseline. This year, the company has set a target to achieve a 50 per cent reduction on the 2005/06 baseline and to continue to reduce emissions to 60 per cent by 2035. The company's renewable energy produc- tion in 2015/16 was 138GWh, representing 17 per cent of its electricity consumption in the year. It has plans to generate around 35 per cent of its electricity consumption from renewable sources by 2020. Wessex Water Wessex Water says it aims to be carbon neu- tral in the long term, with a shorter-term tar- get to generate 30 per cent of its own energy from renewable sources by 2020. It also wants to lower greenhouse gas emissions to one-third below 1990 levels in 2020, and 50 per cent below by 2030. It then wants to be able to lock up the carbon equiv- alent of its remaining emissions by 2030. Yorkshire Water Since 2008/09, Yorkshire Water has reduced its operational carbon emissions by 18 per cent and its electricity consumption has dropped by 10 per cent since 2009/10. The company's aim now is to halve the carbon emissions of new assets it builds by 2020. Overall, Yorkshire supplied 11.3 per cent of its electricity needs through renewable self-generation in 2015/16. It hopes to gener- ate approximately 18 per cent of its electric- ity needs by 2020. Current plans to help the company achieve this include: • a £71.9 million investment in a sludge treatment and anaerobic digestion facility at its Knostrop Works in Leeds, planned for completion in 2019; • a £1.6 million investment by its sister company Kelda Water Services to install a 0.5MW wind turbine at Old Whittington treatment works in summer 2016; • a planning application for the installa- tion of solar panels adjacent to Elvington Treatment Works, which would provide 15 per cent of the site's needs. Welsh Water Welsh Water wants to increase the total energy it self-generates from 15 per cent in 2015 to 25 per cent by 2020, and reduce the energy it consumes with its assets by 5 per cent by 2020, compared with 2012. It also hopes to reduce its operational carbon emissions by a further 7 per cent by 2020, making a total reduction 32 per cent on a 2007 baseline. Impacts of climate change on the water sector • Precipitation: changes in patterns of rainfall will make it more difficult to meet demand, and could increase the risk of droughts. • Abstraction: higher temperatures and less rainfall in the summer mean there is more pressure on already scarce water resources. • Treatment: more frequent heavy downpours and changes to the ecology of rivers may reduce the quality of the water, which would then require more treatment. • Distribution: important assets are at greater risk of flooding, and changes in soil moisture levels may lead to changing patterns of pipe bursts and leaks. • Consumption: as the climate warms, demand for water is likely to increase. • Drainage: changing rainfall patterns challenge the current approach to drainage. Climate change will increase the risk of surface water flooding and sewer flooding, which is one of the most serious types of service failure. Climate change may also increase the damage caused by overflows of untreated wastewater into the environment • Wastewater treatment and discharge: reduced river flows may mean more carbon-intensive sewage treatment is needed to ensure rivers are protected. Source: Ofwat Case study: Wessex Water's bio-bus In 2009 Wessex Water created GENeco – now a functionally separated division of Wessex Water Services – to undertake sludge treatment services at its largest sludge treatment centre. GENeco generates around 40GWh of renewable energy annually, a 53 per cent increase since its opera- tions began, and recycles more than 250,000 tonnes of biosolids to land each year. The subsidiary launched its bio-bus in 2014. A er running a successful trial route between Bath and Bristol Airport, the bus was launched to be used in regular service within the city of Bristol. The route is being operated by First West of England along the number 2 route from Cribbs Causeway to Stockwood. Biomethane produced from sewage sludge and food waste has the same composition as natural gas, and can therefore be used as a direct substitute for natural gas. The gas fuel is stored on the top of the bio-bus, and pressurised to 200 bar. On a full tank of fuel, the bus range is approximately 300km. "Well-to-wheel" biomethane produces 95 per cent less CO2 than diesel, and "tank-to-wheel" CO2 emissions are 20-30 per cent lower than from diesel vehicles. Therefore, biomethane repre- sents a sustainable and renewably-sourced alternative to fossil fuels.