Utilization of renewable energy in metropolitan waterworks: is renewable energy a key to solving energy and environmental issues?

Abstract

In the field of waterworks in urban areas, renewable energy is being utilized through implementing solar power generation in the upper parts of facilities and hydraulic power generation using gravity flow of water and excess pressure. As a result, we have learned that utilization of renewable energy not only decentralizes and diversifies energy supply to enhance reliability and environmental performance but also recovers its costs sufficiently. This paper proposes several utilization models of renewable energy in metropolitan waterworks by presenting installation, maintenance and management of power generation equipment with renewable energy, power generation volume, reduction of CO2 emissions, future plans and further utilization methods.