Standards Development

Scope

This document provides the requirements and guidelines for energy efficiency management in urban wastewater treatment facilities, including planning of energy efficiency management, implementation of energy efficiency measures, and continuous improvement of energy efficiency management and practices. It is applicable to all aspects of activities aimed at enhancing energy efficiency in urban wastewater treatment facilities.

Purpose

With rapid global population growth and accelerating urbanization, wastewater treatment has become a highly energy-intensive industry. Global urban wastewater treatment capacity is estimated to reach approximately 188 billion tonnes annually, consuming about 85–279 TWh of energy. This energy consumption accounts for 3–5% of global electricity consumption and its equivalent carbon emissions is roughly 1–2% of the world’s total carbon emissions. It has been reported that the energy consumption of wastewater treatment accounts for 0.6% of the total national energy consumption in the United States, 0.25% in China, 0.7% in Germany, 0.5% in Korea, and 1% in Sweden. While this substantial energy demand places a significant burden on public expenditure in many countries, it also reveals the enormous potential for energy savings in wastewater treatment facilities in these countries.

To address this challenge, many countries have successively introduced relevant policies and regulations aimed at promoting energy efficiency in wastewater treatment facilities, with the goal of reducing both energy consumption and carbon emissions. For instance, the European Union issued the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive, mandating that large wastewater treatment facilities serving more than 10,000 people achieve energy neutrality by 2045. In the United States, Environmental Protection Agency issued the Energy Efficiency Guide for Water and Wastewater Facilities, which encourages energy audits and the implementation of energy-efficiency retrofitting. Germany, South Korea, and Japan have also formulated regional policies to promote the construction and improvement of energy management in wastewater treatment plants. In China, the Implementation Opinions on Promoting the Synergistic Efficiency of Pollution and Carbon Reduction in Wastewater Treatment released in 2023, calls for a comprehensive implementation of energy-saving, carbon-reduction, and resource recycling initiatives in the wastewater treatment industry. On the practical side, many cities worldwide have actively pursued energy efficiency practices in their wastewater treatment plants, such as the retrofitting of high-energy-consuming equipment with high-energy-efficiency alternatives and optimizing operation of wastewater treatment processes to reduce energy consumption. For example, at the Marselisborg Wastewater Treatment Plant in Denmark, the introduction of intelligent control systems and high-efficiency equipment has led to a reduction of approximately 1 million kWh in annual electricity consumption. Similarly, the Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Plant in the United States has realized annual savings of around $10 million and reduced carbon emissions by about 40% through the deployment of high-efficiency technologies and smart controls. In China, the Yixing Conceptual Wastewater Treatment Plant achieved energy neutrality and save millions of kilowatt-hours of electricity each year by optimizing treatment processes operation and utilizing variable-frequency drive pumps and blowers. These and many other examples demonstrate that effective energy efficiency management can significantly reduce the energy footprint of wastewater treatment facilities worldwide. These examples collectively underscore that energy efficiency management has become a global and future-oriented priority in the development of sustainable wastewater treatment.

Despite the widespread adoption of various energy efficiency strategies, many wastewater treatment facilities still lack clear guidance on energy efficiency management and the effective implementation of related measures. This gap limits their ability to optimize energy use throughout wastewater treatment processes and achieve the maximum potential reductions in energy consumption and carbon emissions. The diversity of treatment technologies, significant variations in facility scale and operation modes, and the regional differences in water resource conditions and discharge requirements pose major challenges to the systematic promotion and replication of specific energy-saving practice. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a scientific, systematic, standardized, and highly operable energy efficiency management guideline. Such a framework would enable managers of wastewater treatment facilities to develop tailored energy efficiency strategies based on their specific operational contexts. It would also establish a foundation for best practices that drive continuous improvements in energy performance efficiency across the wastewater treatment sector.

This document, drawing on international advanced experience and tailored to the characteristics and practical needs of the urban wastewater treatment industry, provides guidelines for energy efficiency management in wastewater treatment facilities. The content covers the requirements for energy efficiency management planning, implementation guidelines of energy-saving measures, and the evaluation and continuous improvement of energy performance. The implementation of this standard will provide unified technical and managerial references for wastewater treatment facilities, support continuous improvement in energy use efficiency across the industry, and contribute to the global transition of wastewater treatment toward green, low-carbon-emission, and sustainable development of wastewater treatment industry.