Guest Blogpost: Jennie Loft,  Public Information Manager, City of San José Environmental Services Department

The cities of San José and Santa Clara and Treatment Plant Advisory Committee (TPAC) members celebrated the completion of a new Cogeneration Facility project in February.

The four-year design-build project is a major milestone of the $1.4 billion, 10-year Capital Improvement Program (CIP) to modernize the San José-Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility (RWF). The RWF is the largest advanced wastewater treatment facility in the western United States and has been operating uninterrupted since 1956.

Overcoming pandemic-related challenges, such as conducting final testing of the equipment virtually with vendor technicians in Germany, the CIP team successfully delivered the $114 million Cogeneration Facility project, upgrading the RWF’s energy and heat production.

Using a combination of biogas, which occurs naturally during wastewater treatment, and natural gas, four new engine generators will produce up to 14 megawatts of electricity to help power the RWF. The project replaces existing cogeneration engines, worn out from nonstop use over 35 years.  The YouTube video provides more information about the facility,