According to the United Nations, 8 % of the world's energy production is used for pumping, treating, and transporting water to all the resource’s users. All over the world, Veolia deploys solutions that optimize the energy efficiency of the entire water cycle.
Energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources are now major challenges, but they are in fact two solutions that help preserve natural resources and limit the greenhouse gas emissions caused by the use of fossil fuels.
The Group is committed to responsibly managing the 7,000 water and wastewater facilities it operates around the world. Veolia has developed a range of services for improving energy efficiency and producing renewable energy.
In 2015, the emission of 2.5 Mt CO2eq. was avoided thanks to energy recovery from waste and sewage sludge. The Group is committed to further reducing the energy consumption of its facilities by 2018: 2 % less per m3 treated in its wastewater treatment plants and almost 3% less in its drinking water plants.
Who are our customers ?
Cities, local authorities, and inter-municipal structures
The Veolia Solution
In a context of rising energy costs, fewer fossil fuel resources and tighter regulations, Veolia deploys an "Energy Efficiency" solution for its municipal customers.
The objective of this solution is to improve the energy efficiency of the entire water cycle by:
→ reducing and controlling the demand for energy
→ optimizing the operation and maintenance of facilities
→ purchasing primary energy
→ producing green energy and marketing it
Energy production units can be installed directly in water treatment plants so that residual sludge from wastewater treatment can be used as fuel. Many of the plants managed by Veolia are 100% energy self-sufficient.
Benefits for our customers
Reducing the environmental footprint
Reducing costs
Recovering energy
Focus Innovation
Ocean 3 - Veolia's energy efficiency 2.0
Ocean 3 is a tool developed by Veolia which precisely estimates the energy consumption of water treatment facilities. These measurements cover water, sludge and the treatment of odours. The tool uses the data collected to model the most appropriate solutions involving the lowest energy consumption.
They chose this solution
Hungary
Thanks to the ECRUSOR technology the Pest South wastewater treatment plant in Hungary has been self-sufficient since 2016. This solution collects and treats biodegradable waste from local supermarkets and restaurants, as well as using sewage sludge from the plant itself. Bio-waste is used to produce biogas and the packaging is recovered separately. ECRUSOR helps the operator process more than 100,000 metric tons of organic waste per year.
United States
Using Veolia's solutions, the Gresham wastewater treatment plant in the United States has been transformed: formerly the most energy-intensive facility in the municipality, it has become a zero-energy plant by using biogas from the sewage sludge and solar energy to power wastewater treatment operations! Energy costs have fallen by an average of $40-50,000 per month.