Partner Profile

City of Santa Cruz, CA / Wastewater Treatment Facility
Location	Santa Cruz, CA
Organization Type	Govt. (Local, Municipal)
Percentage Green Power	66.0%
Organization-wide Purchase	No
Environmental Web Page
Partner Profile Santa Cruz is an environmentally centered coastal community and the municipality has been committed to using renewable energy since 1982. As the municipality’s single largest energy consumer, the wastewater treatment facility has always been seen as a great opportunity for the utilization of onsite renewable energy. In 1991 the wastewater treatment facility began using its biogas to produce heat and electricity and has continued to upgrade this cogeneration system and install solar PV in order to offset its high power usage. The facility will continue to seek more viable renewable energy options and available upgrades to the cogeneration system in the future. “Collecting and burning the valuable biogas resource at out wastewater treatment facility just makes sense. By using the gas that is a normal part of the wastewater treatment process, we save a lot of money on power and heating while at the same time we reduce our greenhouse gas emissions”, said Charlie Lewis, Energy Project Specialist for the City of Santa Cruz.