Renewable energy

Pumping and treating water and wastewater uses lots of energy, which is why Sydney Water invests heavily in renewable energy.

What is renewable energy?

Renewable energy comes from natural resources that can never be exhausted. Renewable energy sources are different to fossil fuels like coal and oil because they do not increase greenhouse gases.

We're making renewable energy in three ways:

1. Wind energy to power the desalination plant

The power needs of the desalination plant are fully offset by renewable energy produced at a wind farm near Queanbeyan. The wind farm produces more than enough energy to operate the plant which covers the days when there is less wind.

The wind farm has increased the supply of wind energy in NSW by over 700%.

2. Turning gas into electricity - cogeneration

We're turning waste methane gas (biogas) into electricity to help power wastewater treatment plants.

Cogeneration uses biogas, a waste product of the wastewater treatment process. The biogas is captured and converted into electricity through state-of-the-art combustion technology.

3. Water power - hydro-electricity

In an Australian first, we're also producing hydro-electricity to generate electricity for our North Head Wastewater Treatment Plant. Excess energy from treated wastewater is captured by a hydro-electric generator. The treated wastewater passes down a large drop shaft on its way to a deep ocean outfall.

Other hydro-electric generators are installed at Woronora Water Filtration Plant and on the Warragamba to Prospect Reservoir Pipeline.

Sydney Water has eight cogeneration plants operating at our wastewater treatment plants and three hydro-electric plants. Together these plants generated 15% of Sydney Water's energy in 2010-11. Using renewable energy in this way reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80,000 tonnes a year.