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- 🌐 Geothermal is having a moment, or in Boise, a century
🌐 Geothermal is having a moment, or in Boise, a century
Josh Dorfman
September 14, 2024
Geothermal thermal energy is super hot right now. Innovation is underway across residential, commercial, utility, and municipal approaches to this carbon-free thermal energy source that flows below the surface.
But geothermal isn’t just having a newfound moment in the U.S.; it’s a having century.
In the 1890s, before the Wright Brothers invented flight or the first Ford Model-T rolled off an assembly line, the residents of Boise, Idaho enjoyed the cost and comfort benefits of heating their homes with geothermal energy.
Today, through a 20-mile network of underground pipes that stretch from nearby foothills to Boise’s downtown core, geothermal energy provides clean, emissions-free heating to over 100 downtown buildings, totaling 6 million square feet of indoor space. It’s the largest geothermal system in America.
In Boise, you can wash your clothes in a geothermal-heated laundromat, swim at the YMCA in a geothermal-heated pool, stroll snow-free streets on geothermal-heated sidewalks, and buy flowers grown in a geothermal-heated greenhouse.
It’s a closed-loop system, meaning hot water is taken from and returned to the aquifer in the surrounding foothills once it’s circulated through pipes to buildings downtown - including the State Capitol - and on Boise State University’s campus.
Tina Riley is the Geothermal Energy Coordinator for the City of Boise. Before taking on the role, Tina spent two decades working globally as a geologist in the Oil & Gas industry. Today, her expertise and that of her colleagues are in high demand because she has the transferable skills that the geothermal industry seeks.
That says a lot about the fast-growing clean economy and how professionals from all industries have a place in building it.
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Number of the week: 4
That’s the number of years it took for the $9.7 million geothermal energy system to pay for itself at the 1,600-room Peppermill Casino & Resort, in Reno, NV.
Quote of the week
“As the largest joint base in the Department of Defense, we must continue to think ahead and look for opportunities to implement diverse, resilient energy sources that reduce emissions, enhance security, and allow us to operate sustainably for years to come. This pilot project is potentially a major step in that direction.”
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New England’s Largest Fossil Fuel Energy Utility Shifts to Geothermal
In Framingham, Massachusetts, the first district geothermal energy system in the U.S. built by a fossil fuel company is about to deliver heating and cooling to thirty-seven residences and commercial buildings. Eversource Energy, New England's largest natural gas utility, will show the oil and gas industry how it can participate in and profit from the transition to a clean energy economy. Eversource also operated the first U.S. offshore wind farm near the Connecticut coast.
A mammoth, Texas-sized High school in Forth Worth, TX Gets 4,000 Geothermal Wells
In Fort Worth, 4,000 new wells are in the ground but weren't drilled for oil. Instead, they're tapping underground water for a newly opened, Texas-sized high school heated and cooled by geothermal energy. That clean, abundant, renewable energy will ensure that the school’s separate basketball, gymnastics, dance, and cheer gyms are comfortable for competition.
Four thousand wells is a mind-boggling number. But Fort Worth’s Ever Lake High School is not the first to embrace geothermal. That honor goes to Richardsville Elementary School in Kentucky, which did it in 2010. The elementary school has never had an energy bill.
Dandelion Energy Removes the Guesswork from Residential Geothermal
When your Google reviews read like, “Customer service, project manager, scheduling and install team are all great,“ you’re doing something right. Dandelion provides turnkey geothermal systems that replace existing air conditioning and heating equipment by using a heat pump to move heat safely between the earth and a customer’s home. The company maintains a great list of resources to understand the costs of installing and operating a geothermal system.
Fervo is Taking Grid-Connected Geothermal to Another Level
A Houston-based geothermal company is adopting drilling techniques developed by the oil and gas industry to go where no geothermal company has gone before; really really deep. In 2023, Fervo completed a successful geothermal project with Google in Nevada in which the company drilled a well 8,000 below ground, then extended it horizontally creating fractures within the rocks. They then drilled a second well and extended it horizontally. Fervo then sends cold water through the first well to push hot water into the second one, bringing it to the surface.
The result? Proven utility-scale geothermal technology that can tap deep geothermal reserves to heat and cool the 21st century and beyond.
The U.S. Military Sees Strategic Advantage in New Geothermal Technology
Fervo and five other geothermal companies have received military contracts to install its technologies on military bases in Alaska, California, Idaho, Texas, and Nevada. The Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit will study the benefits and impacts. Geothermal’s strategic appeal is that abundant local energy can be generated, which requires minimal surface space - unlike solar power - and eliminates the vulnerabilities of long, snaking supply lines required by fossil fuels.
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City Spotlight: Boise, Idaho
Boise appears on many lists as one of the most desirable places to live in the U.S. Earlier this year, Money Magazine was the latest to bestow the honor. With superb parks, a bustling downtown, and an outdoor adventure paradise in all directions, it’s no wonder. Plus, as home to Boise State University, it enjoys the variable culture of a university town even though it’s one of the fastest-growing metros in America.
Here’s what’s Supercool about Boise:
Bike-Friendly Infrastructure: Downtown Boise is among the most bike-friendly destinations in the U.S., with the fourth-highest percentage of residents commuting by bike. In early 2024, Boise introduced separated, dedicated bike lanes to provide added safety and convenience for commuters.
Curb It Compost Program: More than 70,000 residents participate in the city-wide composting program established in 2017. As a result, nearly 40 million pounds of compostable materials have been produced, helping to cut the amount of material heading to the landfill by 41%. The city, in turn, makes compost available to locals.
Treating Sewage Waste on a Farm: Complimenting its curbside composting program, the city of Boise owns and operates Twenty Mile South Farm, a 4,225-acre farm on the city’s southern outskirts. There, city employees grow high-value crops like corn, alfalfa, and wheat, which generate a profit for the city. The farm also does double duty as the destination for biosolids from the city’s wastewater treatment plant. Each day, up to five 30-ton loads of, yes, treated poop are trucked to the farm, where it’s used as organic fertilizer and also then distributed to other farmers in the area.
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