{"id":18318,"date":"2026-10-26T10:24:42","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T09:24:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/isleutilities.com\/?post_type=executive-exchange&#038;p=18318"},"modified":"2026-10-26T10:24:42","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T09:24:42","slug":"ep-103-make-a-100-renewably-powered-plant-with-scott-mcclelland-gm-of-encina-wastewater-authority","status":"publish","type":"executive-exchange","link":"https:\/\/isleutilities.com\/pt\/executive-exchange\/ep-103-make-a-100-renewably-powered-plant-with-scott-mcclelland-gm-of-encina-wastewater-authority\/","title":{"rendered":"EP 103: Make a 100% Renewably-powered Plant with Scott McClelland, GM of Encina Wastewater Authority"},"content":{"rendered":"<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Encina Wastewater Authority\u2019s Path to a 100% Renewably Powered Treatment Plant<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Wastewater treatment is one of the most energy-intensive services a community depends on. Blowers, pumps, and chemical feed systems run around the clock, while many plants with anaerobic digesters still flare the biogas those digesters produce, burning a potential energy source as waste. At Encina Wastewater Authority in North San Diego County, General Manager Scott McClelland is working to change that equation. Speaking with Piers Clark on Exec Exchange, he explains how Encina is building toward a 100% renewably powered treatment plant, and why he believes the goal is more attainable than many utilities assume.<\/p>\n<h5 dir=\"ltr\">A regional utility with an economic mandate<\/h5>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Encina is a Joint Powers Authority, a California structure that allows six agencies to share treatment infrastructure. It serves about 380,000 people in a region McClelland estimates represents around 40% of the San Diego regional economy. That context shapes how he views the plant: wastewater treatment is part of the region\u2019s economic engine, so its energy costs and resilience matter well beyond the fence line. McClelland brings 33 years of experience to the role, including a decade designing treatment plants for a multinational consultancy before moving into utility leadership. He joined Encina as assistant general manager about 10 years ago and has led the authority for the past five.<\/p>\n<h5 dir=\"ltr\">From regulatory mandate to energy strategy<\/h5>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Encina has generated electricity from biogas since 1982, but full renewable supply remained out of reach. The catalyst came from the local air pollution control district, which required the authority to reduce emissions from its generation assets. Rather than treat this as a narrow compliance exercise, Encina used it to rethink its energy system.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The result is CLEAR, short for Cogeneration Low Emissions Augmentation and Retrofit. The project combines cogeneration with linear generators, battery storage, microgrid controllers, and gas-conditioning systems to create a resilient, reliable platform that can operate independently of the grid. McClelland is candid that it involves many moving parts that must work in unison. For utility leaders facing volatile energy markets, the reward is energy security that does not depend on oil prices or the grid.<\/p>\n<h5 dir=\"ltr\">Maximizing biogas at the source<\/h5>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Every renewable energy strategy at a wastewater plant starts with biogas supply. Encina increases digester output by co-digesting fats, oils, and grease (FOG) and brewery waste alongside municipal sludge. Both are high-energy feedstocks, and both generate revenue through tipping fees. Encina charges less for clean FOG than for material taken directly from grease traps, and less again for beer waste, which is almost entirely carbohydrate and breaks down quickly.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Because lipids and carbohydrates volatilize so readily, Encina has not seen biosolids volumes rise as a result of co-digestion. McClelland also points to the microbial hydrolysis processor (MHP), a technology that improves solids destruction in the digesters and produces cleaner gas. MHP can also break down cellulose, opening the door to green waste as an additional feedstock.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">What leaves the digesters still has value. Encina heat-dries its digested sludge in a triple-pass rotary kiln to produce Pure Green, a branded fertilizer pellet licensed in California and Arizona and applied mainly to cropland growing grass and cattle feed.<\/p>\n<h5 dir=\"ltr\">Efficiency matters as much as volume<\/h5>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Producing more gas is only half the equation. The other half is how efficiently that gas becomes electricity. Conventional reciprocating cogeneration engines typically convert biogas to power at around 30 to 31% efficiency. Linear generators reach 40 to 45%. Encina has contracted Mainspring Energy for four 250-kilowatt linear generator units as part of CLEAR.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Utilities can go further still. Upgrading biogas to pipeline-quality renewable natural gas and running it through a fuel cell can push generation efficiency close to 55%. The same volume of gas, used well, delivers substantially more power.<\/p>\n<h5 dir=\"ltr\">Gas cleaning is non-negotiable<\/h5>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Whatever the conversion technology, biogas must be cleaned. At a minimum, that means removing sulfur and siloxanes. Linear generators and fuel cells also require carbon dioxide removal. For Encina, gas conditioning serves two purposes: it protects the equipment, and it enables the plant to meet the emissions requirements that triggered the project. Success means generating all of the plant\u2019s power cleanly, not simply generating it.<\/p>\n<h5 dir=\"ltr\">Turning surplus energy into lower-cost purified water<\/h5>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The most significant opportunity may come after a plant meets its own needs. Encina is expanding digestion capacity and expects to produce around 200% of its own biogas requirements in the near future. With more FOG, brewery waste, green waste, and MHP, that surplus can grow further.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">In Southern California, where direct and indirect potable reuse are central to water supply planning, the surplus has a clear use. McClelland estimates excess energy from a wastewater plant could offset 30 to 40% of the energy required for purified water production. With purified water costing about $2,800 per acre-foot, that is a meaningful lever on the cost of new supply, and it links wastewater, energy, and water supply into a single system.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Encina\u2019s experience suggests a 100% renewably powered wastewater plant is less a single technology decision than an integrated program: maximize biogas, convert it efficiently, clean it thoroughly, and put the surplus to productive use. Regulatory pressure provided the starting point, but the strategic value lies in resilience, revenue, and lower-cost water. McClelland\u2019s advice to his younger self, passed on by an early boss, applies equally to utilities weighing this path: you never really know what you are capable of until you leave your comfort zone.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":14899,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"class_list":["post-18318","executive-exchange","type-executive-exchange","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>EP 103: Make a 100% Renewably-powered Plant with Scott McClelland, GM of Encina Wastewater Authority | Isle Utilities<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Encina Wastewater Authority\u2019s Scott McClelland on how biogas and linear generators can power a plant 100% renewably.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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