Sheilds Water-Energy Nexus

Water Energy Nexus

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California Contract Cities AssociationSouthern California Water Summit & Fall ConferenceNovember 8, 2014

Patrick SheildsIrvine Ranch Water District (IRWD)

IRWD Service Area

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6 Cities Irvine Lake Forest Tustin Newport Beach Orange Costa Mesa Unincorporated Orange County

20% of Orange County Percent of the county covered by IRWD

181 square miles Size of District

IRWD Services & Customer Base

Drinking Water 4 Water Treatment Plants, 27 wells, 36 reservoirs, 1,500 miles of water pipeline

Sewage Collection 1,000 miles of collection pipeline

Recycled Water 2 recycled water plants 500 miles of recycled water pipeline

500,000 District’s Daytime Population

340,000 Residential Customers

105,688 Service connections

93,037 Acre Feet of Water Served (FY 2012-2013)

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IRWD’s Water Energy Nexus

• Water Use Efficiencyo Encouraging conservationo Allocation-based conservation rate

structure• Water Supply Diversification

o Local Supply Developmento Recyclingo Groundwater Banking

• Resource Recoveryo Recycled Watero Microturbine power from Biogaso Solaro Fertilizer – Reduced water needs

• Demand Response• Minimizing peak time pumping using

storage• Energy Master Plan

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Energy costs comprise 12% of IRWD’s $131M Operating Budget.

IRWD Water Supply Portfolio. Then and Now.

1990 2013

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Total Water Demands: ~70,000 AFY Total Water Demands: ~90,000 AFY

Energy Reduction via Water Use Efficiency Program

• Allocation-based Conservation Rate Structure• Landscape Irrigation Management• New Technology Implementation

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Allocation Based Rate Structure Results

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The Water-Energy Nexus

According to the California Air Resources Board, approximately 19% of the electricity and 30% of the non-power plant natural gas used in the

state is consumed by the water sector.

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IRWD’s Water-Energy Nexus Activities

IRWD promotes policies which encourage energy reliability in Orange County and energy efficiency in the water and resource recovery sectors without an increase in cost to or mandates on local entities.

IRWD is committed to energy and GHG management.

• Good business

• Beneficial to our customers and the environment

IRWD’s Water-Energy Nexus Activities, cont.

• Integrated Demand Side Management Water-Energy Pilot Programo MOU with SCE

o Research, study, recommend &

implement cost-effective projects at

IRWD facilities

o Projects will have the potential to meet

local demands in South Orange County

• Embedded Energy

• Demand Response

• Time of Use Program Participation

• Partnership with cities, community colleges, UC system, & SCE

IRWD’s Partnerships with Other Agencies & Utilities

Source: Dr. Peter H. Gleick, Pacific Institute, "Energy Down the Drain," 2004 www.pacinst.org

Water-supply energy intensities(Southern California)

Water-Energy Issues

• Retirement of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station & the pending closure of other ocean-cooled power plants

• Increasing energy costs & reduced overall generation

• State support for water sector energy efficiency

• Drought response and drought-related energy impacts

• Water & resource recovery utilities emergency preparedness and regulatory impacts

• Under utilized standby generator capacity

IRWD Energy Generation Capacity

• 39 Generators total with a combined output of 13 megawatts (MW)

• Two 2.4 MW of generation capacity on natural gas with 1,000 hours per year operational limit

• The remaining 10.6 MW of generation capacity operate on diesel fuel with 200 hours per year operational limit (50 hours per year used for testing)

• Opportunity to engage Air Quality Board on potential regulatory adjustments that could lower stress on grid during high demand, and improve IRWD’s ability to respond to emergencies.

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Summary

• Engage with the Coalition of Agencies, the Legislature, and State regulators on the water-energy nexus

• Pursue policies and incentives which encourage water and resource recovery agencies to implement renewable energy projects

• Water and energy strategies can both lead to fast, cost-effective greenhouse-gas emission reductions

• Water-efficiency efforts offer substantial water (and energy) savings at lower cost, and faster, than new “supply”

• Diversifying water supplies

• Expansion of local supplies

• Pursuing infrastructure funding opportunities to enhance water & energy efficiencies

• Leverage energy saving partnerships and programs with SCE and others

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IRWD Contact InformationPatrick Sheilds

Executive Director of Operations

949.453.5720

[email protected]

Visit us on the Web: www.irwd.com

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Twitter: @IRWDnews

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