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Geothermal Heating and Technology in the News

There really is no disputing the fact that geothermal technology is the wave of the future. According to US Dept of Energy Geothermal Technologies Program, “geothermal energy is a vast underutilized heat and power resource that is renewable, baseload, domestic and clean.”

In most regions of the country, heating is a requirement and with our growing country, comes growing energy demand. That opens the door to unconventional heating technologies like geothermal heating.

Here at the Geothermal Guides, we want to keep you informed on all the news in the geothermal world and its growing technology. Our new monthly feature will focus on up and coming technologies and the individuals and businesses that are helping to make our environment greener – one step at a time.

• A home-builder for more than 20 years, Jon Girod, of Vancouver, WA has been looking for ways to incorporate more green building into his new home projects. A new subdivision in Battlefield, WA, Quail Homes, is now incorporating geothermal heating and cooling into its new homes. According to Girod, he “expects the system to save 20 to 30 percent in energy costs in the 3,400-square-foot home, which will be finished in June.”
• Known as the “greenest” federal building, NASA’s “Sustainable Base” at the Ames Research Center at Moffett Field is a 50,000 sq ft office building that houses over 200 NASA employees.  Steve Zornetzer, associate director of NASA Ames Research Center stated, “This building generates more electricity than it consumes, which allows us to support the energy needs of other buildings on the campus. It’s not just net energy zero, it’s net-positive. And it uses 90 percent less water than other buildings.”
• Missouri University of Science and Technology is building a geothermal heat project that is slated to be completed in 2014. A university spokesman stated that “their carbon footprint should be reduced by 25,000 metric tons per year and its water usage cut by 10 percent.” They expect to save more than $1 million in operational costs initially, but these savings should be upwards of $2.8 million in the coming years.
• The Miami Herald reported that NovaThermal Energy LLC, a Philadelphia company wants to utilize something that is never-ending to provide heating and air conditioning to its downtown buildings – sewage. Sewage geothermal may seem a rather odd thing to do, but Linor Haider, the chief executive officer of NovaThermal stated that, “It’s just like geothermal energy, but we’re using a different well source, so to speak.”  The technology began in China and has been very successful. Their pilot project is at the Southeast Wastewater Treatment Plant, but they plan to have a second one this year in Camden, NJ.

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