LEGAL AND REGULATORY IMPEDIMENTS TO SMALLAND MID-SCALE ENERGY GENERATION AT WASTEWATER FACILITIES

摘要

Although many wastewater streams have an energy content sufficient to reduce, or even entirely offset, the energy cost of wastewater treatment, the benefits of waste energy generation have not been fully realized in the United States. Lost opportunities are due in part to the legal burdens of constructing and operating energy infrastructure, which can be imposing for small and mid scale facilities. The objective of this work is to explore the legal and regulatory requirements of a wastewater energy system at a municipal or agricultural wastewater facility in the United States. Regulatory situations are found to be widely variable throughout the country and while some projects may experience few regulatory challenges, others experience great difficulties. A trend toward cohesive policies is likely to simplify future projects. However, current prospective wastewater energy plants should conduct extensive research to assess their specific regulatory situation prior to investment in a recovery project.