The Water Quality-Energy Nexus

From the AZDEQ Press Release:

"PHOENIX (June 24, 2014) – Arizona Department of Environmental Quality officials
announced today that the agency has completed its first groundwater remediation project
using solar energy in an instrumental role and saved nearly $13,000 in energy-related
costs as a result.

Two solar-powered blowers were used as a power source in a process in which gas was
removed from wells at the Rainbow Valley Citrus Maintenance Yard in Goodyear. Soil
sampling collected during removal of two underground storage tanks earlier indicated
that petroleum hydrocarbons leaked from the tanks. The contamination eventually
reached the groundwater.

The State Lead Program of ADEQ’s Waste Programs Division began cleaning up the site
in 2012 and completed it on schedule last month. Two of the 10 onsite wells had gasoline
in them. Initially, the contaminants were removed from the two wells by using a vacuum
truck before the solar-powered air sparging process began.

“This is a big success story for our use of green energy in environmental cleanups,”
ADEQ Director Henry Darwin said. “This was a small project but it demonstrated that
this approach can be expanded into larger scale applications.”

The two solar-powered blowers were purchased for only $249 and installation and
maintenance costs were minimal. The solar power saved an estimated 20,000 kilowatt
hours in traditional electricity from the grid."