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How do you ask for an energy efficient design? When progressive municipalities and regional agencies try to develop energy saving projects for their drinking water and wastewater treatment facilities, they find few resources to help them answer that question. In an effort to help fill this gap, CEE is coordinating a project to provide model language regarding energy efficiency that municipalities can incorporate into formal documents used to request proposals and qualifications for new projects.
A number of CEE members with water-wastewater treatment plant customers in their service areas have been looking for ways to help municipalities in the push to become more energy efficient. Several members have been approached by these customers for guidance in drafting language regarding energy efficiency that can be added to request for proposals (RFP) or request for qualifications (RFQ). The members, in turn, have looked to CEE to research this opportunity and to convene the relevant stakeholders to formulate sound guidance for water-wastewater customers.
In initial discussions CEE held with engineering firms and treatment facility operators, several themes surfaced:
- Customers need to prioritize operating costs, specifically energy, alongside capital costs, in return on investment calculations.
- Maintenance issues are another consideration. Higher efficiency equipment often requires less maintenance than standard or conventional components.
- Projects should consider the energy use of the entire process, not just specific pieces of equipment.
Another key factor in recruiting qualified contractors is locating a company with dual expertise in both water-wastewater technologies and energy management. A candidate firm that demonstrates an understanding of how process adjustments affect energy consumption would be best suited for projects of this sort. It’s usually easier to design efficiency in from the start, rather than to retrofit. So any way that CEE members can make use of new project opportunities to help their customers incorporate energy efficiency into plant designs results in greater savings for all.
For more information on the RFP and RFQ effort, or to participate in the development of the proposal language, contact Toby Ast at tast at cee1.org or go to the CEE Municipal Water-Wastewater Facility Initiative link on CEE Web site. |
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