Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water has won an international award for best supporting water utility company for their work in innovation.
Welsh Water was presented with the award at the first ever Global Technology Advisory Group (TAG) awards last week in Athens, Greece, which brought together global leaders in innovation in water who shared their experiences and best practices.
The international awards are aimed at recognising innovation leadership in the global water industry. Nominations were received from technology companies, water and wastewater utilities and associations for their contribution to addressing challenges in the water sector through innovation from countries as far as Australia.
Welsh Water was awarded for its involvement and support in technology trials and for its work in ‘horizon scanning’ which refers to the exploration of new future trends and opportunities. Welsh Water is embracing new technology in the water industry and its AMP6 business plan (2015-2020) includes substantial investment in new technology. The water company said its unique operating model where all profits are reinvested back into the business, means that it pays to be innovative as it can help to lower costs, limit the impact on the environment and reduce risks.
On energy innovation, Welsh Water currently generates around 11% of its energy needs and is now aiming to increase this to 25% by 2020 –its AMP6 proposals include:
- investment in an anaerobic digestion plant at Treborth (Gwynedd);
- constructing a facility to export ‘bio methane’ direct into the national gas network at Five Fords Waste Water Treatment Works (near Wrexham);
- Collaborative trial testing for state of the art algae removal technology; and
- generating electricity from renewable sources such as solar panels, hydro-electric schemes and on-site wind generation.
Chris Jones, Chief Executive for Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water said:
“This award demonstrates Welsh Water’s commitment to being more innovative to meet the future challenges we face. Being more innovative will help us to solve some of our problems more efficiently, which in turn will also improve our services to customers and help reduce our operating costs. We are proud that Welsh Water has been recognised in this way as investing in new technology to meet the challenges we are now facing has never been so important”.
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