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Renewable energy generation is a key part of Sydney Water’s commitment to being carbon neutral for energy and electricity use by 2020.

Adapting to climate change

This complex global problem is expected to affect Sydney Water’s capacity to provide services to its customers.

A drier, warmer climate may:

• reduce supplies of fresh water
• increase customer demand for water
• increase the risk of severe bushfires in catchments and reduce the quality of water runoff
• increase algal blooms in dams, with implications for taste, odour and toxicity
• cause sea levels and storm surges to increase, posing a flood risk to low-lying coastal assets
• change the structure and stability of soils, leading to greater risk of pipe breaks.

Sydney Water’s climate change strategy outlines how it will:

• research to better understand the extent of its carbon footprint and the impacts of climate change
• mitigate by cutting emissions by 60% by 2012, becoming carbon neutral by 2020, and by engaging with business and the community to reduce energy and electricity use
• adapt by reducing the risk of adverse impacts on operations and infrastructure and improving the sustainability of water supplies.

In 2008–09, Sydney Water completed a qualitative risk assessment of the impacts of climate change on its infrastructure, maintenance and operations. The assessment identified and evaluated 63 risks. During 2009–10, Sydney Water developed a three-year climate change adaptation research plan to address these risks.

Carbon neutral by 2020

Renewable energy generation is a key part of Sydney Water’s commitment to being carbon neutral for energy and electricity use by 2020. Priority is also being given to reducing emissions by:

• avoiding energy use
• using energy more efficiently, including using more energy efficient pumps and treatment processes
• considering greenhouse emissions over the full lifecycle for major projects or new facilities.

Any remaining emissions will be offset with Renewable Energy Credits and NSW Greenhouse Gas Abatement Certificates. Sydney Water generates these certificates from its renewable energy generation plants and its water efficiency programs such as WaterFix. Sydney Water will also purchase accredited certificates from other renewable energy or low emission projects.

There are now 11 renewable energy projects operating or under construction. These projects have the capability to generate 20% of Sydney Water’s energy needs and reduce carbon emissions by almost 80,000 tonnes a year. This is the equivalent of taking about 20,000 cars off the road.

Sydney Water invested $60 million in delivering renewable energy projects, including:

• installing five state-of-the-art methane gas cogeneration plants at wastewater treatment plants to capture wastewater gases and convert them to green energy. These were in addition to the three existing cogeneration plants
• building a hydroelectric generator at North Head Sewage Treatment Plant to create green energy from treated wastewater falling to an outfall. This is the first hydroelectric generator in Australia to operate on treated wastewater
• installing two hydroelectric generators along water pipelines to generate power from water passing through pipes.

Work on installing pipeline hydroelectric generators at Woronora Water Filtration Plant and Prospect Reservoir was largely completed in 2009–10. These systems will be operational by late 2010.

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