Study of the Optimization Capabilities of Water Supply Systems with the Use of Wind Energy and Water Leakage Control Program - Case Study: Abruzzo, Italy

Two major challenges of water utilities are: 1) high costs of power requirements for pumping and 2) a high amount of water losses due to leaks. This paper analyzes the technical and economic feasibility of installing a wind turbine and introducing a water leakage control program for the optimization of a pumping station in Italy. A business model is built and implemented in four scenarios to compare the difference of using two wind turbine sizes while introducing or not the water leakage control program. The results reveal that the project is a sustainable solution for water utilities. The introduction of the studied optimization alternatives bring high economic savings due to the revenues offered by the green market and the reduction of power requirements for pumping as a result of leakage reduction. the present study shows evidence of how environmental friendly solutions can provide excellent economic and managerial solutions.