Drafter
Clerk 08/25/2011
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AN ORDINANCE determining that unique circumstances exist that make a negotiated direct sale of heat energy generated by the King County wastewater treatment system in the best interest of the public, and authorizing the King County executive to enter into a contract for a district energy demonstration project with the Freehold Group, LLC.
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STATEMENT OF FACTS:
1. Wastewater generates heat energy as it flows through pipelines to the treatment plant, and the technology for extracting energy from wastewater is evolving.
2. The recovery of heat energy from wastewater is consistent with the wastewater treatment division's mission to recover resources from wastewater.
3. Although there is not currently a market for heat energy extracted from wastewater, the market and monetary value of this heat energy is expected to increase over the long term.
4. The lack of a current market for heat energy generated from wastewater and the technical data that will be gained from the district energy demonstration project with no risk to the county, and no requirement for significant monetary investment, make a negotiated direct contract for the heat energy in the overall best interest of the public. The technologies available for recovering heat energy from wastewater are new and evolving rapidly. Although there is not yet a commercial market for this type of heat energy, there are some limited opportunities for the county to work with developers to capture the heat energy from wastewater to test the production of a heating and cooling source for residential and commercial development on a neighborhood scale. This use of this heat energy reduces the use of fossil fuels for heating and cooling and allows resource recovery of the wastewater conveyance flows.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. The council hereby finds pursuant to K.C.C. 4.56.100 that unique circumstances exist that make a negotiated direct sale of he...
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