Flagstaff considers wastewater plant renewable energy project

June 21, 2010

The city of Flagstaff, Arizona, is studying the possibilities to make use of by-products from a water treatment plant to generate energy.

Biosolids from the Wildcat Hill Wastewater Treatment Plant in the east of the city are currently spread to land on 40 acres nearby.

But, city officials are looking at how they might instead be turned into renewable energy.

The project has been awarded a $5,000 regeneration grant from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.

Using an energy technology to process the biosolids could reduce the amount of land needed to deal with the material, city officials believe.

Funds

The city is currently seeking federal funds to support the project, along with other funding to develop a renewable energy facility.

Located near to the historic Route 66 and Flagstaff mall, the new facility could also help raise awareness of clean energy issues.

ADEQ Director Benjamin H Grumbles said the brownfields grant reflected the city of Flagstaff’s intentions to work for a “cleaner, greener energy future”.

He said: “Our brownfields program is all about partnering with communities like Flagstaff to identify and reduce environmental hazards and put properties like this into better use.”

The Wildcat Hill plant deals with six million gallons of wastewater per day. The facility already has a $1.7 million anaerobic digester installed in 2008, which generates 292kW of electricity.