We are FCC Nº23

Juan Luis Castillo (Director of Zone II of Aqualia); Jaume Rutllant (Councillor for Culture, City and Ecological Transition of Lleida); Miquel Pueyo (Mayor of Lleida); Anna Barnadas (Secretary for Climate Action); and Samuel Reyes (Director of the Catalan Water Agency, ACA) during the visit to the facilities. The Catalan Minister for Climate Action, Rural Agenda and Food, Teresa Jordà, accompanied by the manager of the Catalan Water Agency (ACA), Mar León, together with different authorities, during the visit to the Lleida wastewater treatment plant facilities to learn about the latest actions carried out to improve the plant’s energy efficiency. An example of sustainability and innovation Energy efficiency plan of the Catalan Water Agency (ACA) The plant, which has served the city of Lleida and the municipality of Alpicat since 1994, has a track record of high efficiency in the elimination of pollutants. Yields are over 90-95% in the elimination of solids and organic matter, and in recent years energy costs have been con - siderably reduced. In addition, the plant has a Quality Management System (ISO 9001), Environmental Mana - gement System (ISO 14001), Energy Management Sys - tem (ISO 50001). In 2013 it was the first facility in Spain to calculate and verify with AENOR (ISO 14064) the Car - bon Footprint of the Lleida Integrated Cycle. The Lleida WWTP is also a demonstration centre for R&D projects. Currently, within the framework of the Eu - ropean ULTIMATE project (Horizon 2020 No. 869318), the efficiency of a bio-methane SOFT (Solid Oxide Fuel Cell) stack is being tested to evaluate the potential of this new technology. In parallel, in the REWATERGY project (Horizon 2020 Nº812574), work is being carried out on the recovery of urea and thermal decomposition in am - monia for hydrogen production in separative systems. The actions carried out at the Lleida wastewater treatment plant are part of the Energy Saving and Efficiency Programme for wastewater treat- ment in Catalonia, which the ACA has been rolling out since 2018. This initiative is being addressed through three axes, consisting of the im - plementation of photovoltaic parks, biogas production and measures to enhance energy efficiency. The plan envisages an overall investment of 159 million euros and aims to ensu - re that 78% of the energy needs of the sanitation systems are met with clean and renewable energies wi - thin 10 years. I N N O V A T I O N 57 I N N O V A T I O N