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Scottish Water has announced an ambitious £20million hydro power generating scheme that will use the considerable flow in large water supply pipes to generate electricity and protect water treatment plants from power failures.
The work will reduce the power costs for water treatment by 10%, playing a key part of keeping Scottish Water's operating expenditure down.
Water and waste water treatment is energy intensive and complex, with the majority of Scottish Water's energy used in pumping water. Even with the generally high raw water quality in Scotland, a lot of energy is required to treat water to meet the standards set out by the Drinking Water Quality Regulator and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).
Currently more than 30 sites have been identified that could - using techniques most commonly seen in hydro-electric schemes - power the water treatment process in areas such as rural Lanarkshire, the Borders, Stirlingshire, Angus and Fife.
The schemes will make most use of existing Scottish Water buildings and also see the construction of some small buildings and electricity infrastructure to transfer the power from the point of generation back to the water treatment works where it is required. Some of the electricity infrastructure will be "off the grid" - so any major power loss by the power companies would not affect the supply of water to customers.
Ian McMillan, who is leading the building programme for Scottish Water's Capital Investment and Delivery division, said: "This is a key part of our Climate Change Strategy and will substantially reduce our carbon footprint. We're very excited about technology that offers the dual benefits of improved service for our customers and reduced operating costs.
"This is nothing new - our asset base is already generating 5% of our power requirements across Scotland and the investment will double that output. We've identified a number of potential sites and these will be whittled down to the best 20 or so small hydro schemes.
"We have ministerial objectives which are aligned with a keen interest internally to invest with a view to reducing power costs.
"We are working closely with the national park authorities, community councils, power companies and planning officials to make sure these small hydro turbines have minimal effect on the landscape. Some of them will be situated in areas that are very remote so constructing them will require very diligent planning work on our part.
"The £20million is a large investment which will soon pay itself back by allowing us to generate our own power."
In addition to this project, Scottish Water Horizons, the commercial arm of Scottish Water, has recently installed a micro-turbine at the redundant Touch water treatment works in Stirling. This is creating power which is then sold back to the National Grid. Horizons is driving forward the green agenda as part of Scottish Water's drive to be a low-carbon business.
Scottish Water is investing £2.5billion in the 2010-15 period to improve water and waste water treatment across Scotland.
For further information e-mail: william.ancell@scottishwater.co.uk or view website: www.scottishwater.co.uk or follow on: Twitte@scottishwaterpr or Facebook: www.facebook.com/scottishwater
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Industrial connectivity experts, Motion29, have collaborated with superior German manufacturer, HUMMEL, to introduce their new 'Exios' range of cable glands especially suited for hazardous areas including environments involving explosive gases, large amounts of dust and extreme temperatures.
Their resistance to extreme environments coupled with an innovative interlocking 'Armour Cone' makes HUMMEL a safe, trustworthy and cost effective option.
"It's a privilege being able to offer the new HUMMEL Exios range to our customers" says Motion29 co-director, Andrew Wilkinson. "The range satisfies the latest IECEX and ATEX explosion protection standards making the glands suitable for use in areas where there are high levels of gas and dust. There are no weak spots in the construction and the temperature range is from -60°C to +105°C, making Exios extremely robust and resilient to the most hazardous of areas."
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Motion29 have all nine sizes (M16 - M75) of Exios available which includes the smallest cable gland on the marekt (EXIOS 20-1 à AF 22, 155gr). All are made from durable high-grade brass or stainless steel with the additional option of nickel plating. Sealings and O-Rings are made of silicone as standard.
The Exios has an exceptional clamping range and uses the time-proven HUMMEL clamping system. The innovative 'Interlocking Armour Cone' has an acceptance range from 0 - 2.55mm and creates zero torsion on cable cores and armour. The dual seal on the inner and outer sheath of the cable ensures low cable damage and advanced strain relief (in realistic conditions IEC 60079-0:2009 and IEC 60079-1:2007).
"The main advantages of the Exios to the customer" continues Andrew Wilkinson "apart from its high spec, is the ease and speed of installation. The ability to pre-tighten by hand saves time as does the captive interlocking armour cone. From a safety point of view there are no loose parts and important information is engraved onto the individual parts so it can't be lost. The armour clamping is made especially easy to inspect and the use of profile material makes tightening easier"
HUMMEL Exios Cable Glads Specification
• Apparatus Group II and III
- Gas Groups IIA, IIB and IIC*
- Dust Groups IIIA, IIIB and IIIC*
• Zone
- Gas - Zone 1,2
- Dust - Zone 20, 21, 22
• Equipment Protection Level
- Gb Da
• PA6 V-0 fire protection level in accordance with UL94
• Halogen- and Phosphorous-free
• IP66, 67, 68 (5bar)
Motion29 in profile
Motion29 was established in 2006 to serve the industrial and mobile automation markets with safety, indication, connectivity and remote controls systems. In addition to supplying off the shelf product, Motion29 specialises in developing and supplying value engineered solutions to meet customers' specific requirements, with full after sales technical service and support.
HUMMEL in profile
HUMMEL is a family owned business which was established over 60 years ago. With its head office in Denzlingen, Germany, the company has a turnover of 70 million Euros and employs 400 people worldwide.
For further information, view website: www.motion29.com Refer to page 393
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