Technology Archives - Artemis Water Strategy

Nov 15 2016

Can a Drought Make California Rich?

Water engineers fashioned California into an agricultural giant and built some of the world’s greatest cities through monumental infrastructure projects, from the Hoover Dam to the LA Aqueduct and the State Water Project.

Today, that centralized water system has caught the West in a Gordian knot of huge sunk investments and behemoth government agencies. Untying that knot will be a defining challenge for the West in the next decade. As California grows and water supplies dwindle, the West has no choice but to pioneer new approaches to water management. Water built the West, and how we deploy water innovation will define our future.

Men stand in a 45 ton steel pipe over the Hoover Dam, 1935 Image: US Bureau of Reclamation

More than 50% of U.S. municipal water and wastewater infrastructure is nearing the end of its useful life, with over 240,000 water main breaks per year. Federal funding for water utilities has fallen from $16 billion in 1976 to $4.3 billion in 2014, passing the burden of maintaining water infrastructure onto states, municipalities, and ultimately to ratepayers. Residential water prices have risen by 6%, and sewer bills have increased 20% annually since 2000, but they’ve failed to cover the costs.

Market analysts are predicting a $532 billion boom in US infrastructure investment over the next decade to address deteriorating piping networks, combined sewer overflows, and rising population demands for new water supplies. However, it’s unclear where our cities will find the money for those investments.

To survive, California must do more than stretch the limits of engineering and science; it needs to deploy new financial models, new policy and integrate water with energy infrastructure.

We need to decide what parts of the Western tradition of monumental water engineering we’re going to tap into, and what parts we leave behind. Even with an arsenal of proven technology solutions, we need a new vanguard of leadership to redefine water in the West.

Is there an upside to California’s water crisis?

There is a big, exciting upside to California’s water challenge. Our woes present an unprecedented technology investment opportunity. The world’s largest investment funds– sovereign wealth funds, endowments, pension funds– are struggling to find technology-driven water investments. These funds look to preserving wealth over decades and centuries, and they see water scarcity looming as a major risk to their investments. Many blue chip stocks, like Intel and Coke, rely on water-intensive manufacturing. For every dollar invested in semiconductors or food, investors are more vulnerable to the risk of water scarcity. Norway’s $877B sovereign wealth fund, which holds an average of 1% of every publicly quoted company in the world, has identified water supply as a risk to 11% of its portfolio companies. According to the Carbon Disclosure Project, two-thirds of the world’s largest companies are reporting exposure to water risks that could generate a substantive change in their business.

How do we untie the knot?

With such urgent problems and looming economic risks, why has it been so difficult for advanced technologies to gain momentum? Simply put, water is too cheap to pay for itself today, and in the US, it’s not ever going to get very expensive. In the US, providing clean, healthy, affordable water to communities and to businesses is a basic responsibility of government. With water so cheap, most property owners and cities can’t justify the upfront capital investment to retrofit their onsite water systems, even when they can see a trail of long-term savings.

Even more, distributed infrastructure needs more than finance, people in the US want the same kind of utility oversight that they have enjoyed with centralized water systems. CA water utilities need to evolve with the systems to ensure that they provide healthy water and sanitation.

Financial innovation to deploy proven water tech

Where our existing municipal finance structures have funded centralized water over the last century, a new breed of investments is unlocking the market for distributed water. Among the most promising of these are third-party finance vehicles adapted from rooftop solar.

Finance vehicles group a series of smaller distributed projects into single investments of $20M or $100M. These distributed projects partner with utilities to offer water infrastructure as a turnkey service to property owners. Many of the most promising opportunities for “Infrastructure as a Service” pay for themselves based on energy savings or even energy generation.

A proposed series of wastewater thermal energy projects in Washington DC provide one early example of how finance vehicles could bridge the gap between centralized water infrastructure and tech-driven distributed water projects. Wastewater thermal energy generates a source of resilient renewable energy, and earlier this year, the District of Columbia has recognized WWTE within its Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard. A series of onsite projects would provide wastewater geothermal energy to replace conventional heating and cooling. Using third-party finance vehicles, DC Water would be able to charge for the use of the thermal capabilities of its system, generating revenues to supplement its operating budget. Property owners, such as DC elementary schools, would acquire this low-carbon HVAC as a service for no money down, paying as they saved energy and water as compared with conventional HVAC. DC Water projects that it can generate 200 MW of power through the existing sanitary sewer system to replace energy and water-hungry heating and cooling, in schools, hospitals, offices and commercial sites.

Distributed water can do more than help us survive in a drier, more crowded future; it can fuel growth, create jobs and build new global leadership.

Distributed water will create jobs where they’re needed most

Distributed water projects require project developers– skilled hands-on workers. By leading the US in implementing distributed water solutions, California can nurture water tech companies, just as it drove the solar industry in the state. Over the past decade, California’s climate policies have driven nearly $48 billion in investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency, transportation and other climate projects. Those policies have helped create more than 500,000 jobs, according to 2016 California Advanced Energy Employment Survey conducted by Advanced Energy Economy. Advanced energy employs three times as many Californians as the motion picture, TV, and radio industry (145,000); more than agriculture, forestry, and fishing (475,000); and approaching construction (750,000). This new wave of water jobs and businesses will favor smaller towns with more supportive local leaders. For places like California’s Central Valley, where unemployment has been consistently 3% – 5% higher than the rest of California, local support for water project developers could help them build a business that grows to export those services to larger cities.

Jul 11 2016

Can San Francisco’s integrated water policy unlock the market for onsite water?

SFPUC-Sidewalk-2 — Living Machines’ Onsite Water Treatment Cells at SFPUC Headquarters

Cleantech investors have been stymied by the US water market. In 2015, water tech accounted for only 2.2% of cleantech funding, and 0.07% of the broader technology start-up market. While green building has driven the installations of renewable energy and new materials over the last decade, distributed water solutions have struggled to establish themselves in high-performance buildings. At the same time, US water utilities have piloted a host of promising technologies that treat water in buildings and tap into the energy potential within water infrastructure, but they have not succeeded in deploying at mass scale. After successfully piloting in here in the US, many of our best technologies have deserted home markets for Asia and Europe.

The City of San Francisco has been stepping forward to break the log jam of pilots and public debates with a comprehensive policy for distributed water. Last July, it enacted the first mandatory requirement for onsite water reclaim. All new buildings over 250,000 sqft must treat and recycle wastewater for toilet and urinal flushing as well as irrigation. In addition, all new buildings must identify potential sources for reclaimed water. “We have the opportunity to create a new water management paradigm by incorporating innovative strategies to conserve, reuse, and diversify our water supply,” the San Francisco Public Utility Commission (SFPUC) states in its 2014 Blueprint for Onsite Systems. “One of those strategies is integrating smaller, decentralized, onsite water systems into our broader centralized systems.” *

Integrated civic policy: Water, public health and urban planning

Since 2012, San Francisco’s water program has brought three local agencies – the SFPUC, the San Francisco Department of Public Health, and the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection – to work together to develop a streamlined permitting process and regulatory framework. In 2013, the SFPUC expanded the program to allow buildings to share non-potable water across property lines. During the first two years of the program, twenty projects formally submitted water budget applications to the SFPUC.

city-ordinance-codifies-process-streamlined-from-kehoe-presentation-10-1-2016 — Source: San Francisco Public Utility Commission, “San Francisco’s Non-Potable Water Program” October 1, 2015

After an initial series of pilots, SFPUC’s Director of Water Resources Paul Kehoe notes that “we came across a number of other developers who wanted onsite water treatment in their buildings and districts in San Francisco, so we created a non-potable water program.” Through that program, the city has aligned policies for public health and public spaces to develop a process for private property owners to install onsite water systems. Kehoe states that over 40 buildings are proposing plans to collect and treat water onsite for non-potable applications such as toilet flushing and irrigation. “We’ve been learning and working with others throughout the country to show that you can successfully integrate decentralized onsite water treatment systems into your broader, centralized infrastructure to reduce the use of potable water.”

Public Health, Public Spaces

SFPUC has sought input from architects and engineers to examine how integrated design can achieve new levels of efficiency and build resilience in the face of severe storms and the earthquakes. These discussions have gone beyond the basics of installing water reclaim systems to look at synergies between water and energy management, public spaces and public health. Water is seldom seen in tUS buildings beyond the fountains at the entrance. The pipes that deliver water from remote centralized water systems are hidden. In installing its own onsite reclaim system for its new headquarters, the San Francisco Public Utility Commission (SFPUC) chose to showcase water treatment.

San Francisco Public Utility Commission Headquarters: Image by Living Machine Systems (http://www.livingmachines.com/portfolio/municipal-government/san-francisco-public-utilities-commission,-san-fra.aspx) — Image: Living Machine Systems

In a recent presentation at the Aspen Global Change Institute, Kehoe spoke about the role of “process-focused and context-sensitive principles” in building resilient cities.

Building on a legacy of trailblazing policy in San Francisco

San Francisco has a long history of trailblazing new kinds of legislation that have led national trends. In 1983, San Francisco made global news with the first mandatory requirements** for all workplaces to accommodate non-smokers. Yes, there was a trend toward limiting smoking in theaters and public places, but had the city gone too far? In retrospect, San Francisco was among the cities that pioneered a sea change in public policy around smoking. Within a decade, smoking bans outside of buildings as well as inside of them, became common throughout the US. Will distributed water systems also become ubiquitous in a few years?

Green Building has redefined energy and materials in public buildings, but it has left water largely untouched. Urban sprawl and car-centric cities are rapidly being replaced by towns that integrate natural spaces and ecological corridors that bring people together and promote a sense of well-being.

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*Connor, Theresa. BLUEPRINT FOR ONSITE WATER SYSTEMS: A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE FOR DEVELOPING A LOCAL PROGRAM TO MANAGE ONSITE WATER SYSTEMS. Publication. WERF, WRF, and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, 23 Sept. 2014. Web. 17 June 2016.

**Source: NELSON PADBERG CONSULTING. POST-ELECTION REPORT. PROPOSITION P SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.. 1984 January. RJ Reynolds. https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/nlpm0096

Jun 27 2016

Hawaii’s sweltering heat emerges as a new challenge to schools

As Hawaii’s cooling tradewinds have faltered and ocean temperatures rise, Hawaii’s leadership moved earlier this year to invest a significant chunk of its resources, more than $100M, to cooling its schools. Last year, temperatures sweltered above 100 degrees, and health concerns forced the Hawaii Department of Education (HIDOE) to consider suspending school for “heat days.” In Hawaii, the heat crisis in schools is shining a stark light on in-building heat as an obstacle to the State’s prosperity and economic survival. Only 6% of the state’s classrooms have air-conditioning, and Hawaii’s Department of Education (HIDOE) estimates that installing air conditioning in all classrooms would cost $1.7B and saddle schools with an even heavier burden of maintenance expenses.

Air conditioning: Antidote to the “Curse of the Tropics”

Thermal image taken in classroom at Ilima Intermedate in Ewa Beach on September 12, 2014. The Celsius temperature reading of 35.0 in the upper left corner is equal to 95 degrees Fahrenheit. — Image: PF Bentley/Civil Beat: Thermal image taken in a classroom at Hawaii’s Ilima Intermediate middle school, where midday temperatures measured 35.0 C or 95 Fahrenheit.

Air conditioning has been one of the unheralded tools behind the success of other tropical economies, such as Singapore, and desert economies such as Israel, in the latter 20th Century. Economist Jeffrey Sachs quantified the impact that air conditioning has had in tropical economies on productivity by simulating temperate environments that enabled northern countries in Europe and North America to attain leadership during the 19th and 20th centuries.

But as air conditioning helps Hawaii overcome one of the “curses of the tropics,” it carries a financial burden and makes their energy burden heavier. An analysis of schools with campus-wide AC compared with schools of similar size and relative location that do not have campus-wide AC indicates that the cost of electricity may increase by more than 80% in an air conditioned school. The HIDOE spends more than $62 million a year on electricity, gas, water, and sewage fees — a 50 percent increase over the past ten years. HIDOE estimates it will pay an electricity bill of $47.6 million this year.Worldwide power consumption for air conditioning alone is forecast to surge 33-fold by 2100 as developing world incomes rise and urbanization advances.

Ka Hei: Hawaii makes cooling part of the curriculum

With limited budgets, the state of Hawaii has designed a program that taps into community resources along with innovation and renewable energy sources. It’s ambitious Ka Hei program combines the facility upgrades for cooling with science and engineering education. The program is attempting design the heat abatement program to empower our students and teachers to adapt new ideas about sustainability for the benefit of our greater community. In Hawaiin, Ka Hei is the snare made of ropes that the Hawaii god Maui used to capture the sun. Ka Hei also means “to absorb as knowledge or skill.”

Through a combination of energy efficiency measures, clean energy generation (including the HIDOE’s ongoing photovoltaic project, small-scale wind turbines, and other viable systems) and a comprehensive sustainability program, HIDOE is designing Ka Hei to improve the learning environment so students and teachers can perform at their best. Current options include passive cooling, which prevents heat from entering a building, and night thermal flushing to get rid of stored heat in a classroom overnight. Even when supplemental mechanical cooling is necessary, these concepts make conventional air conditioning (AC) systems more efficient. HIDOE has also been piloting new technologies that could reduce cost and be more sustainable. One of the most promising is photovoltaic (PV) air conditioning. A portable classroom at Waianae High is into its second year of running a pilot system using three PV panels for each AC unit.

Futuristic design grows out of need for savings — The “energy positive” building sits on the campus of Ewa Elementary School. Image: Hawaii Department of Education

May 03 2016

It’s in the water: DC RPS considers a new source for renewable cooling

Sewage heat recovery systems are well established in Europe: Photo by Huber

In the densely packed megacities of the future, warming climates and rising incomes will make cooling a decisive factor— for energy conservation and quality of life. By mid-century people will use more energy for cooling than heating. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), energy demand for residential air conditioning in summer is projected to increase more than 30-fold by the end of the century: from nearly 300 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2000 to about 4,000 TWh in 2050 and more than 10,000 TWh in 2100.

Thinking beyond solar and wind

Since the Paris Agreement in December, cities are thinking beyond solar and wind with a view to transitioning to 100% renewable energy sources. One of the cities recognized at the conference for groundbreaking energy procurement programs, Washington DC, is looking to tap into another highly resilient source of renewable energy– municipal sewage waste heat. “The District of Columbia is proud to be recognized among global cities that are truly at the vanguard of fighting climate change,” said Mayor Bowser. “To meet its GHG reduction and renewable energy goals, DGS [DC’s Government Services Group] will need to aggressively expand efficiency solutions and the use of clean energy.”

Targeting Cooling and Heating

On May 12, the District of Columbia Commission on Climate Change and Resiliency will consider adding a new renewable resource for cooling and heating– municipal sewers. The District of Columbia’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) requires District energy suppliers to obtain renewable energy credits (RECs) proportional to the energy they sell. If the new proposal is accepted, “Tier 1” renewable resources would include wastewater thermal energy along with solar, wind, biomass, landfill gas, wastewater treatment gas, and geothermal.
Wastewater thermal energy (WWTE) systems transfer or absorb heat through the conductive piping, from the wastewater to a working fluid in a closed loop. Regardless of above ground temperatures, sewage temperatures remain relatively constant year-round. These systems are completely sealed and odor-free, making them a safe and effective means of tapping into a sustainable energy source. WWTE replaces conventional HVAC systems, saving significant energy and fresh water.
As cities struggle to scale up renewable energy sources and contend with unpredictable supply from solar and wind, WWTE systems provide a critical new resource for renewable energy sources at peak periods. Regardless of whether the sun is shining and the wind is blowing, sewage flows match peak human activities.

WWTE integrates component technologies that have been proven for decades. Both Huber’s ThermWin and International Wastewater’s SHARC system have been widely applied in Europe and Canada. ThermoWatt out of Budapest (Hungary) is one of many emerging companies offering robust WWTE solutions. These modular technologies are cost-efficient for buildings requiring at least 100 tons of cooling, and efficiencies build beyond that. WWTE requires nearby access to at least 100-150 gallons per minute of sewage flow. Given sufficient heating and cooling needs and access to sufficient sewage flow, WWTE can replace conventional HVAC for office buildings, hospitals, hotels and campuses. For example, at Marie Reed Elementary in Washington DC, engineering analysis estimates that Huber’s ThermWin WWTE-driven HVAC would save 364,692 kWhs of electricity, 24,508 Therms of natural gas and 4,480,000 gallons of water.

At present, several US states, including DC, Massachusetts, and New York, are assessing the possibility of using wastewater energy recovery (WWER) as part of their efforts to replace fossil fuels with renewables. DC Water estimates that its sewage flow can generate 160-200 KW of energy. A study conducted in 2012 in New York City concluded that if 5°F of heat were removed from wastewater flowing through the sewer pipes beneath the streets over the course of 1 year, $90,000,000 worth of energy could be recovered.

As US states like Hawaii and organizations like the US Navy and Apple aim toward high levels of renewable energy, WWTE will play a critical role in providing peak energy services.

(NOTE: On July 25, 2016, DC Mayor Bowser Signed Renewable Portfolio Standard Bill into Law)

Dec 08 2015

Water tech leaders build during grim times on the drillpad

Some of the best known companies have their roots in tough times: Apple, Disney, GE and IBM all built their markets during economic downturns. “Scarcity forces a focus on developing creative ways to deliver customer value,” notes business expert Scott Anthony. Tough economic times force innovators to risk new approaches. Recent data suggests that the current slump in onshore natural gas drilling may be fostering a new wave of water tech giants.

Even for an industry that has been defined by booms and busts, the current downturn in the oil and gas industry is the stuff of epic struggle. Deployment of operational rigs is the lowest since 2002, down 65% from a year ago in the sharpest collapse of US drilling in history. In its hour of reckoning, many producers and services companies are turning to water technologies to survive.

Despite the downturn in the number of rigs, water usage has remained stable.

: Source: Digital H20, PacWest/IHS Water IQ

Operators are focusing upon existing wells that produce more water, and using longer wellbores to extend their productivity. “Water represents 10%-30% of overall well capital expenses,” notes Piers Wells, CEO of Digital H20. “Water is becoming even more relevant in the current market environment where margins are being squeezed and there is an increasing emphasis upon operational efficiency and cost reduction.” In the face of the biggest collapse in history, “the energy sector to assess alternative sources of revenues, use of advanced technologies, and innovative practices,” notes Richard Seline, the CEO of H20 Accelerelate, a water tech accelerator in Texas. Water management provides cost savings that could determine survival.

Companies like Gradiant are watching their sales grow during this extended collapse of drilling. CFO Luke Johnson notes: “We have seen a continued but more focused need for our water treatment services over the last 12 months. Customers are looking to reduce their LOE [lease operating expense] over their alternative procurement and disposal options.” According to Johnson, equipment and disposal cost savings were the primary driver for Gradiant’s recent 12,000 bpd recycling plant in the Permian Basin, commissioned just over a month ago. “We’re looking at a robust pipeline of opportunities in the US O&G market despite the macro-environment.” Johnson noted.

Combining financial innovation with technology
Some of the most promising water tech companies are tuning their strategy to support lean drill pad operations. “The current oil price is impacting all O&G players, resulting in large reductions in their capital programs, and an increasing emphasis on operating efficiency and cost reduction,” notes John Coburn of XPV Capital. Filterboxx, one of XPV’s investments, has tuned its marketing strategy to “match their solutions to the changing needs of their customers, combining outright sales with equipment rental and turnkey operations services.” “This non-capital service offering provides customers with solutions to both their restricted capital reality and their high transportation and disposal costs – resilient water solutions, combining technology and economics.” Coburn explains.

Positioning for the next boom
“We saw a similar situation in 2009 when it entered the oil & gas market and in 2015 when the market hit another down cycle.” notes Watertectonics CEO Jason Mothersbaugh, “These down cycles require operators to re-focus on costs. Cycles open opportunities for us to provide cost reduction solutions for clients during the downturn, and put them in a better position in the next boom cycle.”

Forging lasting competitive advantage
Texas has seen that there is upside in oil and gas market lows–rig closures, layoffs and plummeting revenues have brought out innovation and entrepreneurship. Seline notes that Texan grit in the face of earlier downturns have the made companies that survive into global leaders in oil and gas production. “Texas has become a globally recognized ‘platform’ for solving unique energy-water challenges. These downturns show market-gaps, inefficiencies, and identify additional opportunities for optimizing assets.” In the face of the collapse of the pillar of its economy, and a crippling drought, the State of Texas is looking to partner with the energy sector to make its economic woes an engine for long-term growth. Accelerate H20 has just announced the Texas Innovative Water Demonstration Hub – located in Gonzales County – to test, evaluate, demonstrate and showcase technologies that clean and reuse produced water from the oil and gas field. The Hub is convening industry leaders to validate technologies to reclaim water that is typically disposed and never recovered. “We have already identified a number of interested firms and companies – including inquiries from Kuwait, Canada, Germany, Australia, and Brazil.” Seline sees the energy sector integrating technologies proven outside of O&G as part of their standard operations. “Oil and gas drilling rigs are ideal platforms for deploying next generation technology products to reduce waste, to recycle water, and integrate data in off-grid operations.”