B-WaterSmart Policy Brief - Unleashing the Energy Potential of Wastewater

The revision of the EU’s Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD) has recently been adopted by the European Parliament and awaits formal approval by the Council of the European Union before entering into force. The revision entails sweeping changes regarding the way wastewater utilities will have to think about energy. By 2045, all urban wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) larger than 10.000 population equivalent in EU Member States (MS) must achieve energy neutrality. This will require WWTP operators to both generate their own renewable energy and to make major advances in energy efficiency. The policy will be impactful in the context of the EU’s climate mitigation efforts as the wastewater treatment sector is one of the most expensive public industries in terms of energy requirements, accounting for more than 1% of consumption of electricity in Europe. At the same time, wastewater contains roughly five times the energy needed for its own treatment. Through a combination of innovative technologies and management strategies this energy can be harnessed (see Figure 1). This policy brief looks at the challenges and opportunities of realising this ambitious target and provides policy recommendations to stakeholders involved in the implementation process at national and regional levels. It draws on insights from the EU Horizon 2020 project B-WaterSmart (grant agreement No. 869171), which explores different wastewater-to-energy solutions, focusing on Living Labs (LLs) in Spain and Norway.