SLO City’s water treatment plant gets new Tesla battery
New battery will offset electrical use
New battery will offset electrical use– In celebration of National Energy Conservation Day, the City of San Luis Obispo recently highlighted projects that are reducing electrical demands at the city’s water treatment plant and helping the city reach its climate action goals.
The city’s water-energy efficiency project and tesla battery project both help to reduce electrical energy used during peak times and increase the water treatment plant’s resiliency to potential disruptions in electricity. Energy-efficient projects like these align with two major city priorities: fiscal sustainability and climate action.
“Our community’s water is treated daily at the Stenner Creek Water Treatment Plan, which requires energy-intensive equipment,” said Utilities Department Deputy Director Mychal Boerman. “Because the plant operates 365 days per year, it is one of the city’s largest consumers of electricity. Making this facility more energy efficient is integral to meeting the city’s carbon neutrality goals.”
The city has adopted a lofty goal to have carbon-neutral municipal operations by 2030 and is taking steps to reduce operational greenhouse gas emissions and impacts on the community’s energy grid. For several years, the city has been upgrading and replacing equipment at the plant to modernize the facility and improve the plant’s resiliency while reducing electrical demands.
Tesla battery project
The city added a new Tesla battery storage system, at no added cost to taxpayers, that will allow the plant to shift energy demands from on-peak to off-peak periods, reducing large electrical loads on the community’s electricity grid. The system will also be able to provide backup power during planned and emergency outages. Once complete, the battery pack is anticipated to be able to operate the entire plant for up to 11 approximate hours, increasing the plant’s resiliency.
In addition to reducing total energy costs, the Tesla battery system will also charge from the Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) power grid when energy prices are low, and then discharge energy to operate the Water Treatment Plant during peak pricing periods.
Water-energy efficiency project
Reflecting the city’s fiscal, social, and environmental commitment to sustainability, the water-energy efficiency Project is an exciting blend of necessary water treatment plant infrastructure upgrades combined with energy efficiency, energy savings, and renewable energy.
The city has partnered with PG&E to streamline energy-efficiency improvements through this project at the water treatment plant with the help of PG&E’s Sustainable Solutions Turnkey (SST) program.
The water energy efficiency project has replaced the plant’s ozone disinfection system, upgraded its computerized telemetry system, installed a new plant service water system, and upgraded the city’s largest water pump station – the transfer pump station – which provides water to approximately half of the city.
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