Innovative Renewable Technologies

Staff from DEP and DCAS pose on the Port Richmond Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility rooftop after having received a training from ElectraTherm engineers on ORC system operation and maintenance.

In partnership with the NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) and Sherwood Logan & Associates Inc., we will begin a one-year demonstration of an ElectraTherm Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) distributed generation system at our Port Richmond Wastewater Recovery Facility this fall. This project will enable us to beneficially use the facility’s digester gas in its boilers and recuperate low-grade excess heat to produce as much as 75 kW of electricity! This initiative is expected to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions footprint by about 160 mtCO2e annually, or the equivalent of taking 35 passenger vehicles off of the road.

Special thanks to Project Lead Mikael Amar, Project Engineer Charles Ofili, and Plant Chief Andrew Kittel for championing this effort to reinforce our commitment to piloting new technologies in pursuit of creative ways to mitigate climate change.