How one utility powers its entire plant from wastewater

By District Energy posted 06-02-2019 00:00

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Christopher Brooker, Sam Weber, Connie Kargbo; PBS News Hour

Summary

Between flushing the toilet, bathing, and washing dishes, the average person in the United States generates almost 100 gallons of wastewater each day. But one utility in the suburbs of Chicago is using the waste it extracts from that sewage to generate the energy that powers its entire plant. NewsHour Weekend's Christopher Booker reports.

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Megan Thompson:

Between flushing the toilet, bathing, and washing dishes, the average person in the United States generates almost 100 gallons of wastewater each day. And dealing with that water requires a lot of resources. In fact, treating water, including sewage, accounts for 3 to 4% of all the energy used in the United States.

But imagine if that water – even sewage – could itself be used to help generate energy. We're going to take you inside a utility plant in suburban Chicago that's doing just that. It's generating all the power it needs to run … just using the waste that it collects.