For years, water and wastewater production and treatment were viewed as separate functions with energy regarded as a byproduct, notes Robert Taylor. Now, the water-energy nexus has become a more serious consideration, he says, with energy costs second to those of human resources in wastewater treatment and water production. Taylor has devoted the last 17 years to his position as the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC)’s energy manager. WSSC provides drinking water and wastewater treatment for Maryland’s Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. It is the nation’s eighth largest water and wastewater utility, serving 1.8 million people in 1,000 square miles through 10,000 miles of water and sewer main. Taylor notes it takes five times as much energy to treat wastewater as there is energy in the wastewater, “so the movement in wastewater is to become energy efficient, even energy neutral,” he says. “On the water side, most of the energy involved is in pumping.” Prior to his work with WSSC, Taylor served as chief for energy projects and services at the Maryland Department of General Services, developing and managing the implementation of energy performance projects in state-owned facilities. Taylor’s statewide Chlorofluorocarbon phase-out program to replace, convert, and overhaul the inventory of chillers in state facilities was recognized by the EPA as one of the first successful statewide refrigerant management plans implemented in the US.
What he Does Day to Day
With another staff member, Taylor develops and manages renewable energy and clean energy projects in solar, wind, hydro, and biogas. He oversees a $25 million annual energy budget, manages energy contracts, and approves energy bills. Taylor implemented a real-time electricity supply procurement program supplemented with competitive wholesale block hedges. He has developed $30 million in energy performance projects, saving $3 million in annual energy costs and upgraded equipment such as HVAC/controls, lighting, backup/peak-shaving engine generators, fine bubble aeration diffusers/blowers/DO controls, variable frequency drives, wastewater lift pumps, raw water pumps, and biosolids incinerator upgrades. His wind power purchase power program for 85% of a 30-MW wind farm on a variable contingent basis—allowing fixed price lock-in over a decade—saved $1.2 million over its first four years. Taylor’s 4-MW solar PV onsite purchase power agreement project is projected to save $3.5 million over 20 years. He implemented an internet-based energy monitoring and tracking system to verify electricity and natural gas invoices as well as usage and demand, and monitor real-time SCADA flow data versus electric meter data to measure performance metrics and effectiveness of energy efficient strategies.
What Led Him to This Line of Work
While Taylor earned a B.S. in civil engineering from Lehigh University and an M.B.A. with a specialty in finance and marketing from the University of Connecticut, it was time spent in Houston working in the synthetic fuels industry where he cut his teeth in energy work. When he worked for the state of Maryland, he volunteered to serve on a new energy-centric project and services group. “I’d always been interested in the energy field and had been involved in synthetic fuels before,” notes Taylor. “I got seven years of experience under my belt. When this job of energy manager for water and wastewater utilities became available, I jumped at it.”
What He Likes Best About His Work
Taylor enjoys developing projects. He’s proud of one in particular: a $200 million project involving anaerobic digestion, pre-treatment, and co-generation at one of Prince George’s County’s 30 MGD wastewater treatment plants. It took eight years from the initial concept to launch, including political buy-in. Taylor was instrumental in obtaining a $600,000 Department of Energy grant to offset the costs. “It was a tremendous challenge, but a very satisfying one once we got it approved,” he says.
Taylor is a greenhouse gas advocate for WSSC and helped to create a GHG action plan and 10-year strategic energy plan. “Energy prices have more or less leveled off,” he says. “In the years where energy prices were really increasing, it was easier to turn heads and get projects approved. Now, it’s more difficult.” The challenge lies in keeping a strong energy efficiency momentum in an area where natural gas drives the market and its prices have fluctuated throughout the years.
