The Village looks save money and generate more of its own power needs

file photo from 2011

The Village looks save money and generate more of its own power needs
August 13,2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

In projects dating back as far as 2002 the Village looks save money and generate more of its own power needs .

According to Michael Greenhouse a member of the Ridgewood Environmental Advisory Committee, which advises the village on environmental concerns, energy reduction and sustainability , “Ridgewood’s Sustainable Energy Project will cost the Village’s 26,000 residents nothing. And it reaches beyond the energy needs of the water pollution control facility itself, potentially serving as a catalyst for the village’s longer term vision for sustainability.” ( https://www.ridgewoodnj.net/main_recent.cfm?ArticleID=1025)

Again in Greenhouse’s own words , It all started when engineer Chris Rutishauser would look at the bio-gas flare coming from the water pollution control facility he oversees and lapse into a troubling thought: “There goes a lot of wasted energy — a lot of money.” ( https://www.ridgewoodnj.net/main_recent.cfm?ArticleID=1025 )

It took some creative thinking by Rutishauser and facility superintendent Robert Gillow, and some careful planning by leaders in Ridgewood, a project is under way that will capture that energy, shrink the facility’s carbon footprint, and cut its operating costs. ( https://www.ridgewoodnj.net/main_recent.cfm?ArticleID=1025 )

After the facility was completely overhauled 2002 to2005 ,both Rutishauser and Gillow still felt they could better harness the energy flowing through the facility and perhaps reduce the cost of running it in the process. “It’s the largest consumer of energy that the village owns, costing upwards of $250,000 a year for natural gas and electricity,” Rutishauser said. “That’s a big cost and a big opportunity.” ( https://www.ridgewoodnj.net/main_recent.cfm?ArticleID=1025 )

The two found an innovative new system that turns digester gas into reusable heat and electrical power. This Combined Heat and Power or CHP as it is known by uses the bio-gas produced by the anaerobic digesters to both heat the sludge entering the digesters and produce power to run the plant. ( https://www.ridgewoodnj.net/main_recent.cfm?ArticleID=1025 )

Even though at the time CHP was viewed as a good option only for large scale plants with flow rates greater than 5 million gallons per day. However, in October 2011, an updated EPA ( U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) report concluded that CHP could also be viable and cost-effective for smaller plants like the 3 million-gallon-a-day facility in Ridgewood. ( https://www.ridgewoodnj.net/main_recent.cfm?ArticleID=1025 )

Kelly Ebbels of the Ridgewood News on August 5 2011 ,called the project “Proposed energy project in Ridgewood may help bring some green back” ( https://www.northjersey.com/news/126819178_Energy_project_may_help_bring_some_green_back.html ) While even the The Ridgewood blog heralded the project with the headline “Sustainable Energy Joint Venture for Ridgewood” ( https://theridgewoodblog.net/sustainable-energy-joint-venture-for-ridgewood/ )

In October 2011, New Jersey-based Natural Systems Utilities was selected and approved by the Ridgewood Village Council to perform project engineering and construction.

Engineering and hardware installation for the CHP system began this year. Natural gas-powered turbines will capture the excess gas, and generators will power the facility and keep the sludge heated at an optimal temperature. They also installed chemical-free system for disinfecting the liquid effluent using ultraviolet lights to disinfect the discharge from the plant. (https://www.ridgewoodnj.net/main_recent.cfm?ArticleID=1025 )

An array of solar panels will also be installed on the front lawn of the plant, providing yet another source of energy and according to Rutishauser, they are also considering a third source of energy: a turbine inserted into the facility’s outflow pipe. “This water flows 24/7,” he said. “If we can install a turbine without causing any backflow in the pipe. ( https://www.ridgewoodnj.net/main_recent.cfm?ArticleID=1025 )

The Village is hoping that the project coupled with solar energy panels at the village hall and the main fire house and 2 other village properties installed on these buildings at the vendor’s expense will accrue energy savings directly to the village. ( https://www.ridgewoodnj.net/main_recent.cfm?ArticleID=1025 )