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    Texas County Water District invests in 10-MW Gas-fired Microgrid for Reliability

    Jan. 13, 2023
    The project will also allow Bell County WCID1 to participate in grid reliability programs and other cost-saving measures, delivering significant cost reductions to the district
    Photo of Bell County Water courtesy of RPower and Google earth
    Photo of Bell County Water courtesy of RPower and Google earth

    Energy solutions provider RPower has received a contract from the Bell County Water Control and Improvement District (WCID) #1 in Texas to develop a 10-MW microgrid system powered by natural gas generators.

    According to the company, the project, which aims to provide a cleaner alternative to traditional backup diesel generators, will help the facility better manage energy costs and comply with the requirements outlined in the Texas Water Code.

    The code was amended in 2021 to require water utilities to have an emergency preparedness plan that includes a means to operate the water system in the event of an extended power outage.

    The project will also allow Bell County WCID1 to participate in grid reliability programs and other cost-saving measures, delivering significant cost reductions to the district.

    Bell County WCID1, which operates the Lake Belton Water Treatment Plant, engaged Texas-based energy advisory firm 5 to develop the project requirements and an RFP, and selected RPower as its partner.

    “After a thorough review process, we selected RPower as our partner to develop our microgrid system. This project is extremely important for Bell County WCID # 1 as it ensures our compliance with Texas Water Code and provides a benefit to our community,” said Ricky Garrett, General Manager for Bell County WCID # 1.  “The RPower team delivered a competitive proposal that pulled the entire turnkey microgrid solution together for us.  We feel very confident in the RPower team and their ability to deliver what we need to make this project a success.”

    Related stories at EnergyTech.com

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    Enchanted Rock delivering gas-fired Microgrid to ensure drinking water delivery in Houston region

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    Bell County WCID #1 provides water to the cities and water districts of Fort Hood, Killeen, Copperas Cove, Harker Heights, Belton, Bell County WCID #3 (Nolanville), 439 Water Supply, and Belton Lake Outdoor Recreation Area.

    Headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas, RPower designs, installs, maintains, and optimizes microgrid systems.

    About the Author

    EnergyTech Staff

    Rod Walton is senior editor for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 14 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.

    Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    He can be reached at [email protected]. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.

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