Supporting peak shaving agreements in water treatment

To meet their commercial peak shaving agreements (reducing energy use by shedding loads or by using onsite standby generation facilities during peak times) with the local power company, Yarra Valley Water’s Brushy Creek Sewerage Treatment Plant required a generator upgrade.

In late-2017, the Electrical Engineering Department approached EPSA for technical advice, and along with collaborative input from our Sales, Engineering and Project Services Departments we were able to come up with a “best value solution” for the customer, says Paul Rushbrooke, in EPSA’s Electric Power division.

“Project installation was completed in the last working week of 2018, with final commissioning in January, comprising a Cat® 3512 Diesel Generator rated to 1,500KVA housed in a custom-made
enclosure to address the limited footprint available on site.

“The ability of the 3500 series to take the extreme load steps required at high ambient conditions was a major factor in selecting this series engine. This importance of having reliable quality equipment to the customer was highlighted on the day of final completion testing, when the generator was called on to perform ‘peak shaving’ from the power company in 45-plus degree ambient conditions. This generator performed faultlessly at full load for extended periods of time as we claimed it would.”

Yarra Valley Water own and operate a network of sewer pipes and pump stations to collect sewage from customers. The treatment plant at Brushy Creek treats up to 13 million litres of sewage a day. It uses a form of the activated sludge treatment method to remove organic material and nitrogen from the sewage. Activated sludge treatment, introduced over 80 years ago, is one of the most common sewage treatment processes in use worldwide.