Powering Wastewater Treatment Facilities

Wastewater treatment plants operate 24/7, and even a brief power outage can disrupt critical processes like aeration, pumping, and disinfection. Standby generator sets provide immediate backup power, ensuring smooth operations in the event of a power outage. Without a reliable backup power system, untreated wastewater can overflow, causing compliance issues and public health risks. A well-designed standby power system keeps everything running, safeguarding both the community and the environment. 

Wastewater treatment plants naturally produce biogas as a byproduct of anaerobic digestion. Instead of letting it go to waste, this biogas can be used for on-site power generation. Biogas-powered gensets help lower electricity costs, reducing dependence on grid power. By converting waste into energy, plants not only cut down operational expenses but also prevent methane, which is 28 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, from being released into the atmosphere. This closed-loop energy approach minimizes waste disposal costs while ensuring a reliable energy source. 

Cat Combined Heat and Power (CHP) systems take efficiency to the next level by capturing and repurposing the heat produced during power generation. Wastewater treatment plants need thermal energy for sludge drying, maintaining digester temperatures, and facility heating. CHP systems can provide this heat without additional fuel costs. By utilizing both electricity and waste heat, CHP gensets optimize energy use and lower fuel consumption. This approach not only makes wastewater treatment more energy efficient but also significantly cuts operational expenses. 

Microgrids give wastewater treatment plants the ability to generate and manage their own power, integrating energy sources like batteries, solar, biogas, and standby gensets. By reducing reliance on the main grid, plants gain more control over energy costs and improve resilience against blackouts. Whether operating independently or in parallel with the grid, microgrids provide flexibility and security in power management. Microgrid controllers further optimize efficiency, ensuring critical operations always have the power they need. 

Floods, storms, and equipment failures can disrupt wastewater treatment, leading to dangerous overflows and public health risks. If you don’t have a permanent backup power system installed, mobile gensets can offer fast, temporary power to keep essential operations running when disaster strikes. They provide emergency support for lift stations, pumps, and treatment processes, preventing costly downtime. Whether it’s for disaster recovery or planned maintenance, mobile power gives wastewater treatment plants the flexibility they need.