LADWP and LASAN Identify Energy Savings at Plant Facilities through Department of Energy Program |
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation (LASAN) joined forces last month to identify energy saving opportunities within four Los Angeles power and water treatment plants through the Better Buildings, Better Plants Program’s In-Plant Training (INPLT) offered by United States Department of Energy.
Hyperion Treatment Plant, Scattergood Generating Station, and two Los Angeles Aqueduct Filtration plant pumping stations operated by LADWP and LASAN each received analysis and recommendations from industry experts so staff could develop action plans in order to implement energy saving measures. The training allowed Los Angeles employees to gain new insights on assessing and optimizing equipment performance for energy savings which could be adopted at the respective facilities. During the INPLT in Los Angeles, staff and trainers discovered an estimated $750,000 in possible annual energy savings per year from fan and pumping systems at all four sites. “We couldn’t be more proud to partner with LASAN and DOE to improve the environmental sustainability of these plants critical to our operations,” Nancy Sutley, Chief Sustainability and Economic Development Officer at Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said. “As we invest in new technologies for modernizing our equipment, it is equally important to invest in our employees by providing them training opportunities such as this unique peer-to-peer hands-on workshop by DOE.” This event brought together engineers, operators, and plant supervisors to assess and learn DOE’s Pumping System Assessment Tool (PSAT) software platform and apply it to LADWP and LASAN facilities. Technical expertise gained through the INPLTs help companies overcome common, critical barriers to adopting energy management practices and technologies, such as lack of technical expertise and insufficient buy-in for energy saving projects. “LASAN is proud to partner with LADWP and DOE in the Better Plants program,” said Enrique C. Zaldivar, LASAN Executive Director, P.E. ” Our commitment to public health and the environment means that we are continually innovating and finding new ways to conserve energy. This includes our planned co-generation facility at Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant, which will take biogas produced at Hyperion and use it to fulfill the plant’s energy needs.” The four-day LADWP LASAN training began Monday, October 17 at the Hyperion Plant where approximately a dozen staff from each agency were taught about improving the operational and energy efficiency of their plants and energy systems, rather than having to default to vendors and consultants for expertise and input. Participants were also trained on how to brief senior management on the energy-saving opportunities discovered during the in-plant tours. Day two featured a tour of the Hyperion Plant’s systems as well as the Scattergood Generation Station in Los Angeles, and brainstorming around possible energy saving solutions that could be employed at each facility. Days three and four featured tours and recommendations of possible energy saving methods that could be employed at two large pump stations serving the Los Angeles Aqueduct Filtration Plant in Sylmar. “As partners in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Plants program, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation have taken great strides to identify energy savings opportunities, and provide a leadership model for other cities to emulate,” said Eli Levine, Better Plants Program Director. We look forward to continuing to work with them towards their energy intensity reduction goals. The Better Plants program is a voluntary partnership initiative which aims to drive significant energy improvement across energy intensive companies and organizations. The partner agencies, including LADWP and LASAN, set energy saving goals, usually 25 percent energy intensity savings over ten years. In return for joining the program, agencies receive National recognition to highlight their leadership on the DOE website; technical support through a Technical Account Manager (TAM) who helps partners establish energy baselines, develop management plans, identify energy-saving and energy-recovery opportunities and track energy performance metrics; and the In-Plant Trainings among other benefits. Better Plants partners must apply to be part of the In-Plant Trainings. Since April 2011, DOE has conducted more than 60 INPLTs attracting over 875 participants. These trainings have directly led to the identification of more than 3.0 TBtu in annual energy savings and more than $14 million in estimated cost savings nationwide. ### |