SUSTAINABILITY
HARNESSING THE HIGHLANDS
Tomorrow’s FM finds out how small wind turbines are helping Scottish Water reduce the cost of operating their facilities.
Water companies manage thousands of facilities, with clean and waste water treatment works requiring substantial amounts of electricity to operate. With electricity costs having doubled over the last 10 years and more increases predicted – estimates suggest that energy prices will double again within five years – water companies are under continued pressure to look at energy efficiency, now and for the future.
Generating renewable energy at the point of use is one effective way
SCOTTISH WATER BY NUMBERS
• 10 Evance R9000 small wind turbines, operating at a Scottish Water’s waste water treatment works on the Isle of Lewis
• 117,000kWh produced since last May.
• 3 R9000 turbines at the clean water treatment works on Stronsay, Orkney, will generate enough electricity to mean nearly an 80% reduction in the energy costs of running the facility.
• 9 Evance turbines installed at water works on the Isles of Skye and Raasay will generate nearly 50% of the electricity needed to operate these Scottish Water facilities.
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some have reduced their operational costs, helping to control the cost to the public.
Chris Toop, Scottish Water’s General Manager for Energy, said: “To keep the cost of our services as low as possible, it is essential that we develop our approach to energy management and continue to reduce our carbon footprint. We currently generate 28GWh of the 450GWh of energy we need every year to keep high-quality water flowing through taps to our customers, and safely return waste water to the environment. We are on track to double the amount of energy we generate ourselves within two years.”
Wind power specialist, Evance is working in partnership with Scottish Water to help harness their potential wind power. “We have installed our R9000 small wind turbines at 10 Scottish Water facilities to date – making a significant difference to the running cost of these water treatment works, a vital service for the Scottish community,” commented Tim Sammon, Director of Evance Wind Turbines.
“The R9000 turbine is small and unobtrusive – large wind farm turbines can be taller than the London Eye (135m), whereas our turbine is only the height of a mature tree (18m) – yet highly efficient and has proven its reliability in the
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harshest of weather conditions seen in the Scottish Highlands.
“By installing the Evance small wind turbines, energy is being generated on-site for use on-site, therefore reducing the need for purchasing electricity from a grid supplier, resulting in lower energy costs. We are continuing to pursue opportunities to deliver best value by developing renewables and maximising use of Scottish Water’s assets,” said Eddie Johnstone, Project Manager with Scottish Water’s Energy Team.
“It is great working with the team at Scottish Water as they are open to opportunities to make small wind work for them on sites where wind is a good natural resource – a resource there for harnessing! This is all for the benefit of their paying customers,” commented Tim Sammon. “We are currently surveying more sites to determine the viability and potential energy generation of small wind, as Scottish Water continue to work towards a more sustainable public service.”
www.evancewind.com
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