Caribbean Green Energy & Decentralized Water Treatment

With many Caribbean islands still rebuilding from the ground up after the hurricanes of 2017, the region could well be the ideal proving ground for this type of resilient, decentralized solution.

Distributed treatment, which limits the need for fossil fuels and extensive infrastructure, could be a perfect fit for the islands’ needs

Among water treatment industry professionals, consensus is growing that small- to medium-scale decentralized desalination and wastewater treatment plants are the way forward in a water-stressed future. But, governments continue to announce new water mega-infrastructure projects at an alarming rate. Because the public policy debate appears to have simply not caught up with current technology, many companies and NGOs with a focus on small- to medium-scale water treatment or renewable energy have begun to see the Caribbean as something of a new frontier.

Likewise, many in the Caribbean are awakening to the new reality that modes of renewable energy that didn’t seem attractive in an era of energy-thirsty technology have suddenly become viable with the arrival of new technologies that can deliver much more work on a limited electricity budget.

Many factors make distributed or decentralized treatment a perfect fit for the Caribbean. And, renewable energy is a perfect fit for the technologies that have recently made decentralization practical at all scales.

Read full article: Fluence Corporation

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Taxonomy

• Water
• Treatment
• Decentralized Wastewater
• Waste Water Treatments
• Technology
• Environment
• Energy
• Desalination
• Water Supply
• Renewable Energy
• Packaged Water Treatment System

8 Comments

1. Decentralized wastewater treatment makes sense. Decentralized drinking water by desalination doesn't.

2. The use of decentralised treatment systems is certainly the way that wastewater treatment seems to be heading. There are a number of advantages as there is no need for the vast infrastructure required for large centralised systems fed by sewers. Of course the most well designed and constructed plants will not produce a high quality final effluent unless the biomass is operating at optimum levels. The use of bioaugmentation is a key part of the whole process. In particular the requirements for high quality final effluent become necessary for wastewater reuse and aquifer recharge.

3. The idea of local systems and smaller local infrastructure is valuable for a multitude of reasons. Unfortunately in my experience in the US, the financial approach and often well meaning older professional philosophy that bigger is better, not only eliminate the ability to "multi-task" with utility projects to save energy but also limit the opportunity toimprove environments (both in terms of quality and sense of place aesthetics). You also lose the system redundancy value and typically find require higher replacement/repair costs when dealing with storm damage.

4. We are a UK based sustainable water and wastewater solutions provider very much specialising in decentralised small population wastewater treatment systems. We are currently working with the NWC in Jamaica and will be attending the CWWA conference and exhibition to showcase our low CAPEX and OPEX wastewater treatment solutions using facultative ponds. Drop me a line for more information or go to our web site www.gurneyenvironmental.com

5. Hello Michal,  I am also very keen on decentralised utilities. 

   For wastewater treatments: what would be the energy generation of 300 to 400 m3/day household wastewater (corresponding to the capacity of what one Fluence container can treat?) ?

   2 Comment replies

   1. here is a link to the ASPIRAL WWTP with full features and spec. https://www.fluencecorp.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Aspiral-Product-Brochure-EN-Mail.pdf  

   2. Hi Valerie, it is pending the influent, effluent and the plant configuration. Typical  biological energy consumption is 0.25 KW/h

6. Compact, cost effective decentralized systems which are easy to maintain with limited manpower are the future

7. I must agree that decentralized systems are the way to go.  More human scale, and much more cost effective.   Many of the options out there compete very well with the conventional activated sludge type of systems in results, but have a fraction of the over all costs.

   What I'd like to see is that these places like the Caribbeans would see WWT as a priority, and invest in local research to allow them to become self sufficient.   This would be a really big step forward.

8. Decentralized wastewater treatment is widely available and cost effective since you don't have long pipelines. Decentralized desalination drinking water is another question. Much more difficult and expensive on a unit basis. Who will manage the plants? Probably not the locals on a part time basis. Would need circuit riders to make frequent stops, and be on call.  Also, the plants go out when the electricity goes out.