13,000-home suburb may go all geothermal
Winnipeg Free Press
Monday, November 10th, 2003
By Leah Janzen
A new Winnipeg neighbourhood could become the largest community in Canada to be built "gas free" by utilizing only geothermal energy to heat and cool homes.
Manitoba Energy Minister Tim Sale said the province is looking into making the proposed Waverley West subdivision a completely geothermal district -- meaning none of the more than 13,000 homes planned will be heated by natural gas.
"We are seriously considering making the Waverley land a no-gas division, all geothermal," Sale said. "Geothermal will continue to gain a significant share of the market. At some point we won't have natural gas, and at some point before that it will not be affordable. We're convinced this is the way to go."
Already about 3,000 homes in Manitoba have geothermal systems -- roughly 30 per cent of Canada's total.
The systems work by using the earth's natural temperatures to heat and cool buildings.
Special pumps force a water/methanol mixture through special pipes into the ground. The liquid is heated below the surface and returns that energy to the building. It works a similar way to cool the building in the summer.
The ground is a huge storehouse of thermal energy because it absorbs the sun's rays. Below the frost line, the earth ranges from 5 C to 11 C year round -- warmer than the surrounding air in winter and cooler in summer.
The annual heating bill for a 1,200-square-foot bungalow is estimated to be about $334 with a geothermal system, all of which would be for the electricity required to run the pump.
That compares to about $835 for a gas furnace and $1,000 for an electric furnace.
Manitoba Hydro, which supplies electricity and natural gas to homeowners in the province, may appear to have nothing to gain from supporting the idea of geothermal energy. But both Manitoba Hydro and the government are big fans of the technology.
By reducing the amount of hydroelectricity consumed in the province, Manitoba Hydro has more electricity to export to the U.S., where there is potential for higher revenues that can then be used to keep local energy costs low. Also, geothermal energy does not produce greenhouse gas emissions that are dangerous to the environment.
The Waverley West subdivision, which will be geographically bigger than Brandon when complete, could begin construction as early as next year.
Preliminary plans call for more than 13,000 single-family homes, plus apartments, stores and parkland to be built on 1,200 hectares of land in the area bounded by Bishop Grandin Boulevard, Waverley Street, Brady Road and the Perimeter Highway. An average of 260 new houses are expected to be built in the area each year.
When the subdivision was announced earlier this year, plans were already in place to make the neighbourhood a "smart development" that will focus on planning that emphasizes environmentally friendly design.
Sale said the idea of using geothermal technology to heat and cool the development would fit with the "green" theme of the design.
He said installation costs of the underground geothermal loops would be less if the work were done before construction of the neighbourhood begins in earnest.
Glenn Schneider of Manitoba Hydro said the province has asked the Crown corporation to look at the possibility of developing Waverley West as a geothermal neighbourhood.
"It's a very interesting possibility and concept to start thinking about," he said. "If you look down the road, energy prices will no doubt continue to climb. (Geothermal technology) starts to make sense on a long-term basis. There is a long-term future for it."
But Schneider said specific plans for the Waverley West development are in their infancy and details on how much the project would cost or who would pay for it are still a long way off.
Alan Borger, president of Ladco Co. Ltd., which owns the Waverley West land along with the province, the city, and the University of Manitoba, said his company is pleased to be involved in the project.
"We're excited about any innovation that can help make our communities better places to live -- economically, environmentally and esthetically," he said. "Our consultants are studying the concept and we'll consider it."
Borger said questions surrounding the logistics of installing the geothermal pipes and whether there are enough qualified contractors in the province to complete the work must be addressed before any final decision on the future of Waverley West can be made.
According to information from the province, the government hopes to install close to 800 new geothermal pumps in residential homes each year by 2008. And they are working toward doubling the number of accredited installers from about 50 now to 100 in 2005.
Bill Eggertson, executive director of the Earth Energy Society of Canada, said if the Waverley West project goes ahead, it will be the largest of its kind in the country.
But he expects more municipalities will follow suit.
"Economically and environmentally, geothermal energy is a far superior choice," Eggertson said. "I expect we'll see more and more communities starting with the technology from Day 1. It's the trend of the future."
As part of its Power Smart campaign, Manitoba Hydro offers Manitobans loans of up to $15,000 to purchase geothermal heat pumps.
The units cost between $10,000 and $15,000.
Manitoba Hydro estimates that lower bills pay for the extra cost of installing a residential geothermal system over about seven to 11 years. Adding the cost of the system to a mortgage on a new home puts some buyers ahead right from the start, making geothermal systems ideal for new housing developments.
The savings are most obvious in homes where a heating and air-conditioning system are being installed at the same time.
-- With files from Helen Fallding
Town's new houses will be geothermal
By Leah Janzen
WAWANESA -- If the province plans to use geothermal energy to heat and cool 13,000 new Winnipeg homes, it needs only to look as far as Wawanesa for tips on how to do it.
In a windswept field in that small southwestern Manitoba town, geothermal technology is already sunk deep in the ground. It's heating a church and will soon provide warmth to an entire new subdivision.
It's the first completely geothermal neighbourhood in the province.
All 11 homes in the subdivision will be heated and cooled by geothermal technology.
There will be no natural gas lines installed underground, just geothermal pipes that utilize the earth's temperature to heat and cool.
The system can cut traditional energy bills by up to two-thirds and is being touted as the environmentally friendly replacement for natural gas.
"Traditional energy prices will undoubtedly continue to climb,'' said Glenn Schneider of Manitoba Hydro, which is a sponsor of the Wawanesa project. "We're not promoting this as a niche technology. There is a long-term future in it."
So far, two of the lots in the subdivision are sold and one home is already under construction.
Jim Cullen, chairman of the Wawanesa-Oakland Economic Development Corp., said the Town of Wawanesa undertook the revolutionary project when it was looking for innovative ways to increase its population.
It appears to have paid off. One of the lots has been sold to a Calgary couple who will move to the area next year. Developers have fielded calls from other towns interested in learning about the technology and how they might use it.
Developers of the project are also conducting information seminars with Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry soldiers, who will soon move from their base in Winnipeg to nearby Shilo, in hopes they will be interested in moving into the homes.
Installation of the underground geothermal loops will be covered in the lot cost -- just over $13,000 each.
Individual homeowners will need to absorb the cost of the geothermal pump -- about $15,000 each.
To heat a home, water stored in underground pipes is pumped up. Its temperature is then raised by a heat pump's compressor which creates heat. The heat is blown into the home through regular vents.
To cool a home, the system draws warm air away from the home and stores it in the underground pipes.
leah.janzen@freepress.mb.ca
© 2003 Winnipeg Free Press. All Rights Reserved.