Gresham’s journey to energy independence

Now entering its fifth year of operation as a net-zero water resource recovery facility, Gresham is the first facility of its kind in the Pacific Northwest and the second in the country to hold that distinction.The end result is about $1 million in annual savings to the ratepayers of Gresham, Oregon, which includes $500,000 in utility savings, $350,000 from FOG tipping fees, and the balance in avoided costs by using the jacket water heat from the generator sets to heat the buildings. As an added benefit, Class B biosolids that are a byproduct from the anaerobic digesters are applied to agricultural fields as fertilizer at no cost to area farmers.“When you talk about our wastewater treatment, which traditionally has been our biggest energy hog, in less than 10 years it’s producing its own energy onsite,” Bemis says. “So it’s not only green in terms of green energy, it’s green in terms of money.”