AlexRenew

AlexRenew is one of the most advanced, sustainable, and innovative water resource recovery facilities in the United States. Every year, AlexRenew cleans over 13 billion gallons of used water and reuses the byproducts of its water cleaning process to support a physically and economically healthy city. AlexRenew serves over 320,000 people in the City of Alexandria, Virginia, and parts of Fairfax County.

During the past 63 years, its customers have invested almost one billion dollars in water cleaning equipment, facilities, and technology to aid its team of water professionals in cleaning used water to ensure healthier waterways for a sustainable community. Every year, this investment helps AlexRenew remove 99.5% of phosphorous and 95% of nitrogen from Alexandria’s used water. In addition to reducing these pollutants, AlexRenew reuses all available resources in our processes to create a sustainable operation that saves energy and reduces greenhouse gases. On average, 6,200 dry tons of organic solids are delivered to 30 farms in 13 Virginia counties, introducing more than 240 tons of nitrogen back into the soil, which betters the environment and allows farmers to reduce the need for synthetic fertilizers that are more expensive and environmentally detrimental. AlexRenew captures and reuses more than 95 percent of the methane gas produced during its cleaning process that offsets our purchased natural gas by almost 25 percent. AlexRenew also uses reclaimed water as a replacement product for non-drinking water uses at the facility such as flushing, cleaning equipment, irrigation, heating and cooling, hydraulics, and in its educational water features.

As part of the Better Buildings & Better Plants Challenge, AlexRenew has pledged to reduce energy usage company-wide by 25% over a 2005 baseline, 24,000 tons of CO2e / year, by 2025. AlexRenew employees pledge to consistently deliver exceptional service to its customers and the community by continuously improving business effectiveness and product quality as it secures the highest cost-effective level of resiliency and sustainability in all areas of its operations. AlexRenew’s commitment to a healthier environment is highlighted by several large projects such as having a platinum level LEED Environmental Center with 450 solar panels, which currently offsets approximately 50% of the building’s electrical demand, converting over 600 exterior campus lamps to LED which saves more than 85% of the energy used for campus lighting; installing 25 modern power monitors to evaluate energy usage; implementing energy-efficient processes for cleaning water, and ensuring that any equipment that needs to be upgraded or replaced is energy efficient.

Presentation

Leveraging Partnerships to Accelerate Energy Efficiency Improvement: Wastewater Treatment

Presentation

Leveraging Partnerships to Accelerate Energy Efficiency Improvement: Wastewater Treatment

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Leadership Commitments

Better Plants Challenge

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DOE Program Participation