Selection and prioritization of mitigation measures to realize climate neutral operation of a water cycle company

Abstract

Waternet, the public water cycle utility of Amsterdam and surroundings, has the ambition to operate climate neutrally in 2020. This requires a reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of 48 kton CO 2 -eq. An inventory was made of measures to realize the target either in 2020 or in 2050. For all measures the effects on GHG emissions and on costs were determined. To comply with two core values of Waternet -economic effectivity and sustainability -the measures were prioritized based on CO 2 effectivity, defined as costs per ton GHG emission reduction. To realize the target in 2020, 34 measures have to be implemented. The total investments are € 60 million, while the measures result in a decrease in yearly costs of € 5 million from 2020 onwards. In the case where the target has to be realized in 2050, 10 measures have to be implemented with a total investment of € 100 million and a decrease in yearly costs of € 16 million from 2050 onwards. As the cumulative cost savings in 2050 are € 50 million higher for the case where the target is already reached in 2020, and the uncertainty is lower, the realization of the target in 2020 is preferred.

Low-Carbon Urban Water Systems: Opportunities beyond Water and Wastewater Utilities?

“…Waternet has conducted extensive research to evaluate the potential of different thermal energy recovery opportunities, especially on performing economic analysis, conducting pilot studies, and understanding the microbial risks of cold recovery from drinking water distribution systems . Many of the assessed thermal energy recovery opportunities are economically viable (Figure ), especially when combining with ATES systems which are abundant in The Netherlands …”

“…The inventory of abatement opportunities used in this study was built by Waternet . In 2015, an internal workshop was first organized for participants to brainstorm GHG emissions abatement opportunities and to roughly estimate their GHG emissions abatement potential.…”

Maximizing Thermal Energy Recovery from Drinking Water for Cooling Purpose

“…However, at the same time, it is stressed that more research is needed into environmental assessments of thermal energy recovery systems [7]. The potential of thermal energy recovery from the water cycle, including wastewater, surface water, groundwater and drinking water, has been estimated for Amsterdam and its surroundings, focusing on the possibilities to reduce carbon emissions [8][9][10][11]. A specific thermal energy source appeared to be the cold water in the drinking water distribution network [12].…”