Geothermal power is hot stuff

Don’t call them tree huggers.

George and Donna Pavelek of rural Glencoe are not Earth-loving hippies. But they love their renewable energy.

Since 2003, the couple have used a geothermal system to heat and cool their home. “I’m not into all this global warming (stuff) or anything,” Donna said. “It just made sense. We’re not radical by any means, just practical.”

“We really wanted to do something that would save us costs down the road,” she added. “We really seriously looked into getting a wind generator.”

Donna said four or five years ago, the cost-versus-payback equation on wind energy didn’t make sense for them. However, they expect their geothermal heating and cooling system to pay for itself in the next two or three years.

They still use gas to heat their garage and workshop. “I’m thinking if we didn’t have to heat that garage,” Donna said, “our gas bill would be minimal.”

State Legislature looks at geothermal power
Three bills dealing with geothermal power are working their way through the state Legislature. Both the Senate and House are looking at the following bills:
• HF 393 and its companion bill, SF 474, propose funding a $50,000 study by the Public Utilities Commission to perform a comprehensive technical, economic and environmental analysis of the benefits of using more geothermal heat pump systems in Minnesota. The PUC would be expected to deliver its findings and recommendations to the Legislature by March 15, 2008.
• HF 1098 and its companion bill, SF 904, would establish a revolving loan program through the Department of Commerce for installing geothermal heat pump systems in city and county buildings.
• HF 1145 and its companion bill, SF 1011, would require public utilities to offer each of its customers a one-time credit of $200 “per ton” for geothermal heating and cooling equipment purchased after June 30, 2007. “Per ton” is a term used in the heating and cooling industry, referring to the cooling power of a ton of ice.

For more information on how geothermal heating and cooling systems work, see the March 20 Leader print edition.

(Jorge Sosa is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sosa@hutchinsonleader.com)