If you’re looking to stretch your facility's management dollar and fretting over fossil fuel bills, dig up more information on geothermal energy. While wind and solar get more press, the geothermal energy resource has a lot to offer, and can be used in a much wider circle than you may think.

The benefits of geothermal energy are both economic and ecologic. It’s clean, requiring less (or even no) fossil fuels to use; it’s renewable, as the water is returned to the ground to get reheated and reused; it requires less land per power plant than fossil fuel sites; it’s reliable, as there is little or no potential for interruption to the power source; and it’s flexible, as the power plants can be designed as modules to grow unit by unit with increasing demand. There are three main ways to use geothermal energy sources:

1. Drive turbines for electricity with steam released from a reservoir that is geothermally heated to between 300 and 700 degrees Fahrenheit;

2. Harness heat directly from a reservoir that is geothermally heated to between 50 and 300 degrees Fahrenheit;

3. Adapt the geothermal principal to heat pumps for indoor climate control.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Stay current with information on geothermal power to generate electricity

Pressure of the earth's crust keeps water heated to up to 700 degrees Fahrenheit from boiling over. Utilities can generate electricity by releasing the water from these reservoirs and directing the steam at turbines.

I recommend: Contact Calpine, America’s largest producer of geothermal energy, for more information on wholesale energy products, renewable energy credits, and energy management services. Raser Technologies, Inc. currently has several power generation projects underway in the Southwest.

Tap into direct geothermal power

The two most well-known ways to use geothermally heated water are as a direct heat source for buildings and in hot-spring health spas. Direct-heated water also is used in greenhouse agriculture in cold climates, to heat kilns for drying lumber or to wash or pasteurize products.

I recommend: Oregon Institute of Technology’s Geo-Heat Center's site offers geothermal energy information; their interactive map shows where companies currently use direct geothermal heat. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) gives you links to geothermal direct use for agriculture, aquaculture and direct heating for industry, plus assistance in financing through grant and loan programs to encourage renewable energy use.

Install heat pump geothermal energy systems to control your climate

Instead of using fossil fuels or electricity to heat or cool air, use a geothermal heat pump system to transfer heat from one place to another. Most commonly, installers bury a continuous loop of piping. Like the radiator in your auto, coolant circulates continuously, either absorbing heat from the earth in the cold months to redistribute inside your building, or reversing the process in the warmer months to cool the building.

I recommend: Based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, WaterFurnace International, Inc. produces a complete line of commercial systems for any size industrial application. A system from ClimateMaster, Inc. can provide nearly three-fourths of the points you need for LEED certification.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  While your business' locale may preclude using direct geothermal heat, look into ways to plug into a power grid when you research information about geothermal energy. Larger utilities using alternative energy sources can let you elect to obtain any percentage of your electricity from sources such as geothermal energy, with no disruption to your power.