OUTSOURCING ENERGY MANAGEMENT AT VILLAGE CREEK WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT

In its more than 40 years of operation, Fort Worth Water Department's Village Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant has self-generated a portion of the electricity required for its operations by burning methane gas, a byproduct of the wastewater treatment process.Having outlived their useful lives and facing air quality standards compliance issues, two reciprocating internal combustion engines were replaced in the summer of 2001. In their place, two more-efficient combustion turbines produce more electricity with less fuel and lower nitrous oxide emissions.Fort Worth has partnered with TXU Energy, a subsidiary of global energy company, TXU, to be the energy manager for Village Creek. TXU Energy's responsibilities include:Operate and maintain project equipmentSchedule turbine outages and provide backup electrical power to guarantee constant electrical availabilityServe as the plant's energy brokerManage and sell renewable energy credits generated by the project.Outsourcing energy management allows both the Water Department and TXU Energy to concentrate on their respective areas of expertise. With contracted and guaranteed electrical power availability, Village Creek can shut down the old reciprocating engines permanently without the expense and drain on manpower to maintain them as a backup system. Additionally, utilization of TXU Energy's expertise eliminates the cost of hiring additional professionals and educating the existing workforce in gas turbine and generation operations.