Counties move forward with geothermal energy

Counties around the country are finally grasping the advantages of geothermal energy and are quickly embracing these green technologies. Particularly at this time of year, in the midst of an unusually cold winter, officials are looking for more energy-efficient systems that will keep town buildings warm without racking up significantly high bills. Geothermal heating, fortunately, provides a viable solution.

Expanding financial rewards
The Muscatine Journal reported that the County Board of Supervisors in Muscatine, Iowa, held a meeting earlier this year about the possibility of heating the County Administrative Building and County Attorney’s office with an extension of a geothermal system that is already in place. Essentially, the plan is to connect the existing geothermal system at the Muscatine County Courthouse to the other two buildings so that both could leverage the benefits. With the geothermal system, neither of the buildings would require traditional boiler systems any longer because they would depend on underground pumps instead. The result? The county would cut down on heating and air conditioning costs.

During his presentation to the board, Vic Amoroso, the president of A&J Associates of North Liberty, explained that there would likely be no need to dig more wells, as the existing geothermal system should have enough capacity for both buildings. He also noted that when it’s particularly cold outside, there would be emergency backup solutions just in case the combined system couldn’t handle heating for all of the buildings.

Muscatine County is now moving forward with these plans, and officials seem optimistic about the investment. The Muscatine Journal revealed that John Jurca of A&J Associates of North Liberty is confident that the project is going to cost less than previous proposals to update the heating and air conditioning systems in these buildings. More importantly, once the system is installed, the county will see substantial energy and cost savings. This project is slated to complete by Sept. 30.

Minimizing waste
That’s not the only county meeting about renewable energy. According to The Tomah Journal, The Monroe County Board of Supervisors in Tomah, Wis., just approved a $180,000 fee to design a geothermal water heating and cooling system in the Monroe County Justice Center, which would be located in the basement of the building as opposed to the roof.

The rooftop system has had some major drawbacks – mainly that a considerable amount of heat has been leaking because of insufficient insulation. In fact, the news source noted that the county spends about $8,000 extra a year due to heat and cool air escaping. A geothermal system won’t be as vulnerable because the most critical component lies indoors and away from the elements. Not only that, but the basement system is expected to cost roughly $30,000 less a year than the rooftop system. As an added bonus, geothermal solutions last 25 years on average, and can be simply maintained with easily replaceable components. On the other hand, the rooftop system only has an average lifespan of 10 years. That means that in 2024, the county would have to shell out approximately $700,000 to replace it completely.

Tags: Space Conditioning, Water Heating