Cost efficiencies of geothermal meeting widespread approval

Look at housing and infrastructure and you should be looking at geothermal, says Inez Miller of Manitoba Geothermal Energy Alliance (MGEA). “It doesn’t matter where you look in the province, the business arrangements work.” Miller says, “Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs is expressing interest in geothermal from an overall planning perspective. They tell us it has a strong appeal based on funding, access to resources, and other issues that could make projects successful.”

MGEA wants to be positioned to address areas of concern expressed by AMC in workshops. She notes that Darcy Wood, AMC housing and infrastructure manager, made a presentation to MGEA this spring that contained a lot of statistical analysis about housing needs assessments. “It was an excellent presentation. Geothermal presents phenomenal opportunities and we learned about the issues around potable water that could be tied to geothermal systems.”

Brian Soulier works at AMC on geothermal issues, “What we did last March was host a workshop in a technology working group that focused on the economic development with people in finance, human resources, environment, and infrastructure or housing planning. Our workshops brought together First Nations to communicate about advancements in technology.”

One topic of discussion was geothermal, and Miller spoke about MGEA as did Ed Lohrenz, Vice President of MGEA, Ron Robins, MGEA president, “and Cross Lakes First Nation presented on their success story with a 38-unit housing installation in a district loop. Franklin Ross came with their contractor to discuss installation and the obstacles that were overcome.”

Soulier said, “Knowledge exchange with First Nations communities helps those who are interested and assists others who perceive it cautiously, stating that geothermal is too complicated or too costly. The expense depends on the priority of the community, those seeking good infrastructure solutions with long run cost efficiencies will find the economic capacity. We are advocating geothermal for the communities in Manitoba.”

Winnipeg Geothermal’s Ron Robins is serving president of MGEA. Board members are competitors and Robins is owner of a geothermal  installer company doing design and installation, conducting geological drilling assessments for heat exchange arrays for either commercial buildings or apartment blocks.

Friesen Drillers is owned by John Friesen, operating a third generation family business drilling in Manitoba since the late 1800s. Frieson is a board member MGEU, “We work all over Canada,” from an operational centre in Steinbach, Manitoba. “Drilling in the Canadian Shield is more expensive, even so, you get thermal conductivity in the shield that is higher than average, so it’s a positive geothermal situation that is more expensive to access with the same payback on BTUs, although the cost to drill goes up.”

Geothermal drilling occurs in rock, clay, limestone, any conditions. One of the important geothermal options is called an open loop, which extracts heat from a dedicated water well and returns the water to another well. “If you are in rural Manitoba and need a water well, you can use that same well to extract geothermal energy and drill an extra well to act as a return well. We do a fair bit of that. By nature our first love was drilling for water.”

Friesen says, “Geothermal provides huge cost efficiencies over the long term. In the urban environment, commercial geothermal installations provide huge energy savings in apartment blocks. Commercial arrays work for major manufacturing companies like Bristol Aerospace, which uses high heat processes in manufacturing and they take ground water out for cooling. Acquiring water rights for allows for licensing groundwater systems, a scenario for which we engineer and design systems, be they closed or open loop systems.”

Drills come from various drill manufacturers, and Friesen has a large number of different drills for the variety of jobs the company engages. “My company is now in it since 1892. I’ve been in geothermal since 1972 on the residential side and the commercial side since 1976. In the past five years residential geothermal has exploded into a major part of the business, and it keeps growing as more customers are able to justify the $18,000 to $25,000 upfront costs.”

Sealing the drilled loops is done meticulously with thermal-enhanced grout, which contain very low conductivity values, “We do bore holes up to 600 ft. in Winnipeg and around Manitoba, and the concern is always to preserve ecological integrity of aquifers, separate water tables, and to avoid contamination of fresh water by salt water aquifers.”

He notes, “We have to protect these water tables. Geothermal drillers are going through ground water and grouting creates the security, which takes time and money.” The company does extensive training of drillers, pump installers, and all facets of operations, with a staff of 65, including a hydrologist engineer, “a rare breed. There is lots of competition in the industry. We do a lot of training and skills development in drilling and various technologies.”

Lee Robins of CleanEnergy says, “We provide complete geo-exchange installation on large commercial projects.   The company distributes GeoStar Heat Pumps, which  are available with ten year parts and  labour allowance factory warranties, and a life expectancy of 25 to 30 years,

“Geothermal takes heat out of the ground in winter and releases it into the (building)., During summer it takes the heat from the building and releases to the ground. The dual purpose makes it more efficient - then there’s the type of loop weather it be it an open system, drilled, buried loops, or lake or ocean loops. We have in-house engineers that can provide complete design, energy analysis and life cycle analysis.  They work extensively in commercial projects, estimating proper heat and cooling loads estimating proper heat and cooling loads that contribute to an efficient environmentally friendly system.

Robins says, “The heat gathering loops are designed to serve the equipment, and loops are designed according to geography, as well as financial feasibility. Around the country recreation facilities are using geothermal  adaptations to rinks and halls or swimming pools to exchange heat, moving heat energy from one place for use in another. District loops are very good options wider community-use. I’ve been in geothermal since 1988 and I used to be surprised how long it was taking to get it started. Now the cost of everything related to energy is growing, and the green initiatives are part of the new equations.. Big innovations in efficiencies and quality of materials have made the geothermal investment better than ever.”

Crystal Thibeault is an executive on the board of MGEA and owns International Pipe Manufacture in Selkirk, Manitoba, which markets specialized pipe across Canada to both coasts, from Truro to Bella Coola, and places between like Berens River, Manitoba. Water pipe, electrical pipe, and geothermal pipe. “We put your pipe in the ground and manufacture up six inch pipe, and geothermal uses a technically proficient plastic pipe called high density polyethylene (HDPE)

Geothermal utility delivering new housing energy community-wide in B.C.

Geotility is a geothermal utility service that is the brain-child of Jim Leask of Kelowna, B.C., who envisioned natural gas and other non-renewable energy sources becoming less-affordable as time goes by. The energy options to burning fossil fuel were practically non-existent in North America when he started a mechanical company in the Okanagan Valley of B.C. in the early 1990s.

Rick Nelson works for Geotility in their Kelowna office, “Jim was a visionary in setting up a geothermal utility company in B.C.,” says Rick. “Running a geothermal utility is not that difficult in this province but different provinces have different rules.” In the province of B.C., meanwhile, Geotility has  found a lot of success by working with First Nations. “They are leaders in the green energy debate in this province.”

 

Geotility runs the Sun Rivers geothermal utility in Kamloops, a housing development that resides on land belonging to Kamloops Indian Band, and recently Geotility broke ground on a centralized geothermal utility service for a  brand new  housing development for the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, in Tofino, B.C., on Vancouver Island. “It's all geothermal in Tofino at the new the Esowista housing development of the Tla-o-qui-aht community.”

 

Rick says of the company he works for, “We're passionate about delivering geothermal services. What started as a mechanical company under Jim Leask and Sons has become a complete geothermal company,” he says, including all the services involved, from drilling to mechanical installations to heat distribution, billing and maintenance.

 

Rick says, “Basically Jim Leask saw the day 20 years ago when natural gas distribution would become more and more expensive and he began looking at the options.” As a mechanical engineer Jim Leask saw geothermal as the next step in energy services and geothermal was a perfect fit for mechanical company, so, “Seven years ago Geotility was launched to pave the way for the geothermal industry to operate at the same level as other utility services.”

 

Today Geotility even owns the drills (manufactured by Multi-Power Products in Kelowna). Geotility worked with Tom Ulm, Sr., of Multi-Power Products to design a drill to fit inside an underground parkade, and as a result, Geotility is able to retro-fit buildings in the core of a city's downtown with geothermal heating systems.  Drilling is underway directly beneath existing buildings like the Georgia Hotel in Vancouver, and the Hudson's Bay Building in downtown Victoria, “We have two modified drills with short masts that can operate in all ground conditions.”

 

Geotility designs the utility systems that run heat through whole communities. “We drill 700,000 feet per year and fill the holes with geothermal pipe.” For example since the ground was laid out for new housing on Esowista property, in Tofino, drilling is commencing to supply heat to the entire community of 160 new houses plus other facilities, including a new Long House and community facilities.

 

Jordan Parrot is one of the engineers at Geotility, and Jordan is in charge of the Esowista drilling program in Tofino starting this January. “It's one large geothermal field with centralized distribution of the hot water,” says Jordan. “We are doing the field engineering and mechanical design on this project. We are producing hot water for the geothermal array from hundreds of ground-loop drill holes.”

 

Jordan says the Esowista field is a large one, “It's a substantial size field, hundreds of holes. The drilling program will take three or four months to complete, depending on  the weather.” The company is hiring some of their required labour from the Tla-o-qui-aht community.

 

Moses Martin is housing manager for Esowista Housing, the department belonging to the Tla-o-qui-aht community based in Tofino. “Construction is underway,” says Moses, “the roads are roughed in and a new bridge was built to join this project to the existing Esowista community.” Sixty-eight is the number of new houses slated for immediate construction and another 100 houses will be built within the next five years.

 

Funding for the new housing development ($17 million )was obtained under the Canada Economic Action Plan and Moses says $3 million of that was earmarked for geothermal heating. “With the overall size of the project we anticipate the return of Tla-o-qui-aht families to Tofino from places like Port Alberni, Nanaimo, Victoria, and Seattle, Washington.”

 

Moses adds, “It's a well-rounded housing plan that includes the geothermal heating for the new Long House and an eventual school for the new community.” The bridge connects this subdivision, called Ty'Tan'Us, to the existing Esowista community and the nhe new community will have three access points, says Moses.

 

Tla-o-qui-aht members will be active in the building of all phases. “We are ramping up the workforce as we speak. We will have a team of labourers working throughout the phase, and phase one alone will supply jobs and paycheques for at least two years.” Some training and apprenticeship will ensue.

 

The skilled labour will be learning new aspects of construction, says Moses, “We are looking for better quality housing construction being put into these homes. We want these homes to last at least 50 years. We are looking hard at the quality of the houses and we're going for the LEED Gold Standard of green and sustainable housing construction.”

Geothermal in Alberta a slow percolating interest

Geothermal Utilities is founded by Joe Lewoniuk in Edmonton, Alberta, who says, "Geothermal is an energy heating solution that's basically free forever once the incremental costs are met." It is a cost-efficient heating and cooling system, "even in a place like Alberta where natural gas is king." Geothermal supplies heat, air conditioning, and hot water, and Lewoniuk  notes that extra costs are generally found in the size of the heat-gathering loop in the ground. "The geothermal industry has more welcoming markets such as in Manitoba where they drill geothermal holes for $3.50 per foot. It's $6.50 a foot in Alberta. You drill 250 feet and the cost is going to be near $2,000."

Despite expense, says Lewoniuk , the energy yield is high and cost-efficient. "It's a far better household investment than say a hot-tub or fancy triple pane glass windows," and he believes Albertans a lagging behind the rest of Canada. Alberta's geothermal reticence is based on lack of knowledge, says Lewoniuk , "The supply chain in building management starts with contractors and are entrenched in gas works in Alberta. It may begin to change now that Natural Resources Canada put earth and geothermal energy on the official list of renewable energy sources in Canada."

 Jeremy Jacob operates Exchangenergy from Pender Street offices in Vancouver and Duncan, B.C., on Vancouver Island. Jacob says, "GeoExchange systems moves the Earth’s energy into a residential or commercial space using ground or water heat exchangers and heat pump technology.  By moving heat instead of producing it through of combustion or electrical heat, we can acheive heating efficiencies of over 500%. GeoExchange systems work with both forced air and radiant floors. Many of our clients prefer radiant floors for their comfortable heat effect. Adding a Heat Recovery Ventilator gives greatly improved indoor air quality.

 Jacob says, "The industry allows systems that use a ground heat exchanger sized for 70% of the building load, but we design systems to run on geothermal 100% of the time without using supplementary heat.  We've found that 100% ground loops suffer none of the 'loop degradation' seen on some partial systems." Time has proven geothermal heat exchange and heat pumps require low maintenance and have the lowest life cycle costs of any other home heating methods.

The atmosphere of living conditions is vastly improved by the use of this technology, "We are control system experts and use careful integration of system elements with an intelligent control system strategy to optimize performance of a GeoExchange heat pump. Solar panels, swimming pools, domestic hot water, air conditioning - depending on the requirements, we can design the best strategy to balance these loads to get the most efficient system."
 

The folks at Integrity Mechanical, in Vancouver, B.C., liken geothermal to a juggling act of amazing proportions, "It's like bringing ten trades together in one smooth and efficient operation," says Scott Miller, the principle, "including several forms of hydronics and circuitry, pumps and heat exchangers." The array is engineered and then installed by excavators or drillers, plumbers and pipe-fitters, heat pump installers, and the process is monitored by regulators. Scott works with solar thermal panels to drench the fluid in solar heat to increase ground heat in the geothermal array.
 

"These solar panels resemble photovoltaic panels but are different because they circulate fluids through panels and can be directed by a series of valves from a mechanical room to feed heat to the geothermal pipes," says Rob Pope, sales manager at Integrity Mechanical. No electrical generation is involved in the thermal solar installation and hot water heat is used in a variety of ways." Geothermal is typically installed on new construction and solar panels are usually 4 feet by 8 feet. "We can supply green energy with huge cost efficiencies to institutions like schools and administrative centres and health clinics and community facilities." 

Polar Refrigeration in Prince George, B.C., installed the NEXT Energy systems with a horizontal array at the McLeod Lake Indian Band, which is a Tse'Khene community that lies up Highway 97N on the way from Prince George to Mackenzie. "They installed it into the administration building a couple of years ago at the main community of the McLeod Lake Band, 150 kilometres north of Prince George," says Dez, of Polar Refrigeration. McLeod Lake Band is an industrious group of over 450 members. The community is presently establishing new Indian Reserve properties in Mackenzie and Bear Lake. As these reserves are developed and housing constructed it is expected more than the present 150 band members will move back to Indian Reserve lands. Innovations like geothermal may be in the offing for new developments.

Parkland Geothermal, Derwin Joelson, President, is a CGC certified NextEnergy dealer in northern and central Saskatchewan. Joelson believes in geothermal is the only way to go in Saskatchewan. The limited availability of natural gas in rural areas combined with costs of propane and oil (or the labour intensive task of providing enough wood as a source of heat in winter months) should only confirm his beliefs.

"Most clients are those who do not have access to natural gas or those who are looking for a more cost efficient heating system in the long run," says Joelson. Compared to conventional heating and cooling systems, geothermal systems have a higher initial cost but lower operating and maintenance costs. "When considering a heating system, we should compare not only initial costs but we must include on-going costs such as fuel, maintenance, and replacement."
 

Geothermal system should be viewed as a long term investment that can mean substantial savings within several years of installation, Joelson says, "The number of incentives and grants available along with the many advantages of a geothermal system and many," including; low maintenance, free air conditioning, comfortable interior environment with cleaner air, hot water, humidity control, and green energy. "This should only convince everyone that geothermal is the answer."
 

Sonic Drilling is a company built on highly functional innovations in drilling that so happen to work optimally on geothermal drilling jobs. With a host of drill and drill head patents Sonic Drilling also manufacturers a line of drills for export to countries all around the world. The company operates in the high-end of the industrial economy by drilling for cost-efficient energy solutions and manufacturers of sonic drills and drill heads.

Ray Roussy patented a super-performing sonic drill that has won awards in geothermal efficiency from the Canadian Geo-Exchange Coalition. Roussy's company Sonic Drilling succeeded in commercializing a sonic drill rig that bores 3-5 times faster (depending on soil conditions), "without using any drilling mud and is able to provide continuous core samples to depths of more than 300 ft. (100 meters)." As a result of these amazing attributes, sonic drilling can be employed in many applications including geo-technical and geothermal projects, environmental investigations, and mineral exploration, with a marked specialty in drilling and sampling for aggregate materials like gravel and for sampling environmental remediation conditions around the province.

 Bill Fitzgerald is the General Manager of Sonic Drilling, and Fitzgerald says, "We sell the drills around the world and employ our own fleet of drill rigs in Canada on a contract basis across the country. We do a lot of environmental drilling for remediation projects and we explore for minerals, and we have a specialization in geothermal holes. We do all kinds of drilling but generally we do the exploratory, environmental, and geothermal holes."

Fitzgerald says, "Our work in drilling in Canada is 90 percent geothermal and 10 percent environmental. It used to be opposite. And we do a lot of work providing core samples for mineral exploration," and they leave a very clean site when the job is done. He explains geothermal drilling comes in two sizes, 5 inch or 6 inch diameter. "These holes provides the width to put in the piping, one inch or one and a quarter inch polyethylene straight down 150 to 200 feet. The loop is made at the bottom and grouting fills the hole," a heat conducive mixture that increases the heat sensitivity in the loop.