Policy brief: the potential of the wastewater sector in the energy transition

Today, European wastewater treatment plants consume the equivalent of more than two power plants’ worth of energy every year as well as a considerable portion – about a fifth- of municipalities’ electricity bills. the costs incurred by society equate to approximately € 2 billion a year. nonetheless, these plants could be producing up to twelve power plants’ worth of efficient, renewable, flexible energy to contribute towards a low-carbon, circular development of the European economy.
The EU co-funded POWERSTEP project, led by research and industry players, has demonstrated a range of full-scale lab-tested innovations for energy positive wastewater treatment. At its heart, the concept is based on the extraction of increased organic matter from wastewater which is converted into biogas and subsequently applied to new or existing plants at a similar cost to conventional treatment, resulting in a reasonable payback time.
A newly released Policy Brief shows that turning wastewater treatment plants into efficient renewable energy generators firmly complements the current goals of strengthening the European economy, coupled with securing its energy system and making a significant contribution to Europe’s international climate and sustainable development commitments. The brief puts forward a set of policy recommendations at the EU level aimed at enabling the full potential of energy neutral or energy positive wastewater treatment plants using the PowerStep concept.