Bergen County Utilities Authority Bergen County Utilities Authority Little Ferry, NJ Superstorm...

Bergen County Utilities Authority

Bergen County Utilities AuthorityLittle Ferry, NJ

Superstorm Sandy & BCUA’s Energy Resiliency Plan

November 6, 2013

Water and Energy Nexus in Disaster Workshop

Dominic L. DiSalvo, PE, BCEERichard M. Cestone, PE, CHMM


• Overview of BCUA’s Little Ferry Water Pollution Control Facility (WPCF)

• Overview of Superstorm Sandy Impacts

• Overview of BCUA Mitigation Approach and Energy Resiliency

• Details on the Combined Heat and Power (CHP) System Upgrade and Additional CHP

• Black Start Capabilities

• Questions

Agenda


BCUA

Little Ferry Water Pollution Control Facility• In service since 1951• Expanded through the 1970s, 80s and 90s.• Design Capacity: 109 MGD Maximum Month• Provides secondary treatment.• Discharges treated water into the Hackensack

River.

The BCUA owns and operates seven pumping stations in the Little Ferry WPCF collection (sewer) system.

(Municipalities in service area own sewers and combined sewer overflows.)


BCUA Service Area

Little Ferry WPCF• Serves about 536,000

residents.• 46 municipalities• Commercial/Industrial

- METLIFE Stadium- Others


• 100-Year Flood Impacts

• Loss of Service Costs: $1M per hour

• Systems

• Power/Alternate Power

• BCUA Preparedness and Successes during Response

Impacts of Superstorm Sandy


• Asset inventory of damage

• Systems level plan for restoration

• Scopes of work and cost estimates submitted to FEMA

Restoration


Flood Elevations

Superstorm Sandy and the Future

• Estimated Superstorm Sandy Elevation on site: 9.0 + feet

• Proposed 100-Year Storm Elevation for the Area: 9.0 feet

• Proposed 500-Year Storm Elevation: 12.0 feet

• Design Storm for Mitigation: 100-Year (9.0 feet) + 2-foot freeboard + 1-foot Sea Level Rise = 12.0 feet


• Plan for improvements to mitigate future impacts

• Tiered prioritization of “at risk” components

• Scopes of work and cost estimates submitted to FEMA

Plant–wide Mitigation


MitigationTiers

• Tier 1: Moving wastewater (WW) out of the collection system

• Tier 2: Conveyance through the plant and disinfection

• Tier 3: Primary and secondary treatment

• Tier 4: Operations

• Tier 5: Ancillary


BCUA Power Supply

Power supply is critical to maintaining service to the community.

Loss of power supply:• No wastewater (sewage) treatment• Wastewater will remain in the collection system.

- Backup into the community- Local health and safety issues

• According to FEMA, lost wastewater service is equivalent to $45/person/day:- At 536,000 residents = $24M per day ($1M per hour)

Poor power quality:• Potential damage to plant equipment


BCUA Power Supply

Existing BCUA Power Supply:• PSE&G electrical grid• Biogas powered generators (natural gas from

PSE&G available)• Backup emergency generators (kerosene fuel)

During Superstorm Sandy:• Power fluctuations in PSE&G electrical grid• Equipment damage• BCUA took itself off the PSE&G electrical grid• BCUA operated emergency generators


Power SupplyMitigation

Goal: Maintain wastewater service at all times, including outage/fluctuations in the PSE&G electrical power grid.

Approach: Create a new power supply microgrid as the primary source of electricity. The PSE&G electrical power grid will be the secondary or standby source. • Based on the expansion of existing biogas powered

CHP electric generator system.• Use sustainable primary fuel – Biogas from the on-site

digestion of sewage sludge (biosolids), brown grease and food organics.

• Use natural gas from the PSE&G piping network as the secondary or standby fuel for CHP.


Power SupplyBackupMitigation

New Power Supply Microgrid Project will include:• New third CHP electric generator• New energy efficient aeration blowers• Upgrades to the digester system to enhance

on-site biogas fuel production and provide storage

• New brown grease and food waste receiving and processing system to augment biogas production


OtherPower Supply Mitigation

Protect key power supply assets from flooding at the design flood elevation.

Main Substation:• Raise electrical components.

Switchgear Building and Cogeneration Building:• Dry proof walls.• Install flood-resistant entrances.• Install a flood wall around the building.• Raise the transformer outside the

Cogeneration Building.


In 1995, the BCUA installed 1.3 MW caterpillar gas fired engines for their air blower system providing air to their aeration tanks. The engines were designed to burn natural gas and biogas.

The BCUA cut a deal with PSEG. This Standard Offer Agreement with PSEG would provide a cost savings if biogas was used in the engines. When the engines started, however, silicon dioxide – a product of combustion of siloxanes – caused increases of NOx and CO emissions and PSEG considered revoking the Standard Offer.

The BCUA installed a carbon absorption system removing the siloxanes, thus lowering emissions and the Standard Offer remained.

BCUA’s History of

Biogas Use


BCUA’s History of

Biogas Use


CHP Cogeneration Facility

• The BCUA blower engine success was the model for installation of other engines burning biogas.

• Based on the lessons learned from the blower engines, the BCUA constructed an CHP Cogeneration Facility at their Little Ferry WPCF in 2006.

• Two 1.4 MW General Electric (GE) Jenbacher internal combustion engines were installed and have the capability of burning both natural gas and biogas generated from the anaerobic digesters. This resulted in…



• The CHP plant located next to the Blower Engine Building commenced operation in 2008.

• The plant was able to save over $11 million to date in what would’ve been the cost for natural gas and electricity.

• In 2009, the BCUA developed an Energy Master Plan to examine energy savings throughout the facility. The centerpiece of the Energy Master Plan was the CHP plant.

• The BCUA CHP facility was deemed a great success and won awards from the NJDEP, Association of Environmental Authorities (AEA) and Board of Public Utilities (BPU). However, there is always room to improve.



• Earlier in 2013 after an 18-year run, the BCUA decided to decommission the gas-fired blower engines. The BCUA currently has three electric engines powering the blowers.

• The BCUA decided to add a third engine for the CHP unit and located it in the vacated area of the gas-fired blower engines. The engine will be the same 1.4 MW size and will most likely be a GE Jenbacher engine or an engine equivalent in nature.


Additions to the CHP

Facility

Two reasons the BCUA decided to add a third engine:

• Two engines can constantly operate while one can be serviced.

• The BCUA is setting up a receiving station for fats, oils and grease (FOG) to inject into the anaerobic digester and burn biogas. The BCUA has also planned to receive food wastes, such as whey, to inject into the anaerobic digester to generate additional biogas.



Facility

• Even though there are cost savings due to the CHP facility and tipping fees for FOG and food wastes, the BCUA still needed additional funding to install the third CHP engine.

• In 2013, the BCUA applied for a grant through the New Jersey BPU’s Renewable Energy Incentive Program (REIP).



Facility

• On October 25, 2013, the BCUA was awarded a $2.5 million grant to help fund the installation of the third CHP engine.

• With the engine located in the blower building, the third engine will already have natural gas and biogas lines to be connected easily to this engine. The gas pretreatment system used for the blower engines will be used for the third engine.

• Expected completion and operation commencement is late April 2015.


Black Start Capabilities

• Currently, the BCUA has three kerosene-fired back-up turbines to operate the plant in case of a power outage.

• The engines have the capability of operating the wastewater treatment areas and sludge processing while the CHP unit is turned off.

• The CHP engines can operate during extended power outages if kerosene is depleted and cannot be delivered.


Conclusion • The BCUA can operate with limited outside fuel sources with an CHP system and energy savings based on the tasks provided in their Energy Master Plan.

• The BCUA will continue to find ways to reduce costs and conserve energy to operate the facility and survive emergency situations.


Contact Information

• Dominic L. DiSalvo, PE, BCEEARCADIS U.S., Inc.(914) [email protected]

• Richard M. Cestone, PE, CHMMRemington & Vernick Engineers(856) [email protected]


Questions?

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