Northeast Water Pollution Control Plant Biogas Cogeneration FacilityThe Northeast Plant began biogas cogeneration in 2013. Also known as Combined Heat and Power (CHP), the system captures both thermal and electrical energy from wastewater gas.
Anaerobic digesters process sludge filtered from wastewater to produce biogas, which is then fed to four internal combustion engines to create heat and power for the plant. In addition to providing a sustainable fuel source—the water that needs to be treated generates its own heat and power for treatment—creating on-site energy minimizes what would normally be lost in transmission, making the process even more efficient.
The energy created by Northeast WPCP biogas cogeneration provides the amount of electricity it would take to power approximately 3,650 homes. The system can provide up to 85 percent of the plant’s electricity needs and offsets over 20,000 mt CO2e annually, equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions produced from using 2.2 million gallons of gasoline.
Southeast Water Pollution Control Plant Solar ArrayThe Southeast Water Pollution Control Plant’s solar array began operation in May 2011. Taking advantage of the abundant and sustainable energy provided by our sun, these solar panels generate electricity using
photovoltaics, which are semiconductor, light-capturing materials that drive an electric current through an inverter or battery. The Southeast plant's solar array includes more than 1,000 solar panels, which generate around 330,000 kWh of electricity—enough to power 35 Pennsylvania homes—each year, providing $30,000 in annual energy savings.
Biosolids Recycling CenterFor decades PWD has been safely treating and processing biosolids, the residuals resulting from the wastewater treatment process, from our three Water Pollution Control Plans.. Since 2012, biosolids have been thermally dried into environmentally beneficial, pathogen-free pellets used as organic fertilizer and renewable fuel. Biogas produced by the digesters aids the thermal drying and solids treatment process, reducing the amount of natural gas needed and further lowering emissions from burning fossil fuels. Prior to the thermal drying process, biosolids were composted, applied to farmland as fertilizer, or landfilled. Many trucks were required for the transport of this material. Currently operations are contained at the thermal drying facility, resulting in far less greenhouse gas emissions from truck traffic.
Aircraft Deicing Fluid at Southwest Water Pollution Control PlantIn the winter of 2008, we began accepting aircraft deicer from the Philadelphia International Airport to feed to our anaerobic digesters at the Southwest Water Pollution Control Plant. The addition of organic compounds found in deicing fluid has two benefits: it increases the production of the methane-rich biogas that we can use to decrease fossil fuel consumption, and it keeps the deicing fluid, toxic to both humans and animals, safely out of our waterways.
Climate Change Adaptation In addition to addressing climate change by decreasing fossil fuel emissions and reducing energy use, the Philadelphia Water Department is planning for a future that is impacted by climate change through the Climate Change Adaptation Program (CCAP).
Read more about the program.