WET News

wwtonline.co.uk | JUNE 2018 WET NEWS 7 Northumbrian Water to install 10 new solar farms Danish company exploring robotic technology for WwTPs • Announcement comes after renewable energy agreement with Ørsted N orthumbrian Water Group is finalising plans to install and operate 10 new solar farms at its sites. The company expects to generate 10 gigawatt hours of electrical power – enough to power more than 3,000 homes – through the solar farms. Northumbrian Water recently announced that it would power all 1,858 of its sites using renewable electricity for the next four years a•er signing an agreement with Danish energy supplier Ørsted. NWG is now building a partnership with Lightsource BP, which has already started ecological, operational and electrical assessments of water and sewage works for 10 ground- mount solar photovoltaic systems across its operating area. The project will enable the company to take another step towards carbon neutrality, while reducing its own energy costs. Graham Southall, NWG commercial director, said: "We have a genuine desire to work with suppliers who share our passion to deliver excellence across our industry while protecting our planet by reducing our carbon footprint. This project will deliver a great result for our customers, the environment and our business." Lightsource BP has delivered solar power across Europe, providing sustainable power alongside significant cost savings to clients, and NWG said it was impressed with Lightsource BP's track record and the commercial offering. Lightsource BP is the largest utility-scale solar developer and largest operations and maintenance services provider in Europe, with over $3BN (£2BN) of capital invested across 2GW of global solar projects. It is a global leader in the funding, development and long- term management of solar PV projects and has worked with many large energy users and water utilities companies. Lightsource chief executive Nick Boyle said: "We are truly delighted to be appointed as Northumbrian Water's strategic partner in the delivery of this project. "Choosing to procure solar electricity in this way will provide Northumbrian Water with a long-term hedging strategy against rising costs in today's volatile energy market. "Solar is a locally generated, cost-competitive, reliable and clean alternative that will be a good addition to Northumbrian Water's energy mix. "We are looking forward to working with the team to deliver these 10 sites in the next year." D anish water company Aarhus Vand is working with Blue Ocean Robot- ics to develop "disruptive" robotic technology for waste- water treatment plants. They intend to investigate how the work environment, productivity and resource utilisation can be improved in the wastewater industry, not just in Denmark but globally. The Robi-X partnership is looking at drone technology for inspection of wastewater basins and sewage systems as well as robotics for the maintenance of outdoor areas at wastewater treatment plants and reducing heavy li•ing at the plants. With the city of Aarhus seeing population growth of 5,000 people a year, Aarhus Vand's innovation manager, Karsten Lumbye Jensen, said action was required. "Due to the strong population growth in metropolitan areas, we need to consider sustainability and create disruptive technology, also in the wastewater industry," he said. "Ahead of us lie big challenges such as climate change and lack of resources, and therefore we need to carefully consider how we can do things differently with the help of innovation and new technology. "In the partnership with Blue Ocean Robotics, we have merged robotic technology and sustainability which has resulted in new and exciting perspectives that also have an export potential. The know-how and products we develop in Aarhus will definitely be applicable in other parts of the world." Blue Ocean Robotics CEO Claus Risager added: "The wastewater industry is an industry where robot technology has had little impact so far. In collaboration with Aarhus Vand, we will develop innovative solutions for efficient operation and maintenance of wastewater treatment plants. "Our RoBi-X partnership model provides a great starting point for the development of new scalable solutions for the wastewater industry, where innovation and end users are in focus." Aarhus Vand said it plans to decide which of the potential robotic solutions it will develop further soon. • 24/7 Emergency Breakdown | Flood Dewatering Planned Maintenance • Bespoke and tailored Rental Solutions • We offer ATEX submersible pumps • We hire only our own Flygt and Godwin pumps • Full range of pipework and accessories available PLUS telemetry and monitoring equipment • Free site survey and system design • Same day installation available* Xylem Rental at Birkenburn Reservoir, Scotland SUBMERSIBLE AND DIESEL PUMP HIRE 24/7 RAPID RESPONSE NATIONWIDE AVAILABILITY DIRECT FROM THE MANUFACTURER FOR ULTIMATE PEACE OF MIND *subject to availability 0845 707 8012 fgb.rental@xyleminc.com | www.xylem.com/uk flygt_godwin rental advert rev aug 2017_Layout 1 04/08/2017 15:16 Page 1 Illustration showing a design for a cleaning robot

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