Water Research Center

Southern Research will provide independent testing and evaluation of current and developing technologies to enhance water quality and reuse during all phases of the power generation process at the newly developed Water Research Center scheduled for full operation by August 2012. Designed as a collaborative effort in conjunction with Southern Company (SoCo) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the Water Research Center will be located at the existing Plant Bowen electric generating facility owned by Georgia Power Company, a SoCo subsidiary, and will provide independent performance evaluations of technologies to address water use, withdrawal, consumption, remediation, and recycling throughout the power generation process.

Focused on Core Water Efficiency Issues

Based on our extensive expertise in water quality and wastewater remediation research, experienced Southern Research engineers and technicians will direct all research and testing at the facility. In addition to providing electric generating companies with independent testing and evaluation of current and novel technologies, the Center will also generate new information regarding current and future regulatory compliance issues related to water withdrawal, use, and discharge restrictions and will facilitate sustainable water use practices within utility operations. Testing at the Center will focus on the following key areas:

• Cooling tower and advanced cooling systems
• Zero liquid discharge systems
• Moisture recovery
• Wastewater treatment
• Solid waste landfill management
• CO₂ technology issues
• Water management modeling

Southern Research is currently accepting inquiries from interested parties regarding testing of their technologies at the Water Research Center.