(RENO) - Reno Energy LLC and the University of Nevada, Reno are joining forces to ultimately create the world's largest heating district by using clean, renewable geothermal heat energy.
This district will offer customers heating and cooling at costs 35 to 55 percent less than traditional heating sources like natural gas and oil.
Reno is blessed with nearby major geothermal reserves. Reno Energy, a limited liability company whose principals have more than 10 years of experience in the geothermal energy fields near Reno, will tap into these reserves to create a heating district with the potential to heat 30 million square feet of industrial and commercial space in the fast-growing area south of Reno, Nevada.
Reno Energy and the University's College of Engineering will make a joint announcement detailing the project at 10 a.m on Dec.13 at the College of Engineering Lab Building, Room 110, on the Nevada campus.
Nevada Professor Yunus Cengal, Ph.D., P.E., prepared an economic engineering analysis of the project which determined that the heating district can deliver heat energy at 35 to 55 percent cheaper than natural gas or heating oil. Other independent research has confirmed that the clean, renewable resource from the Steamboat Hills Geothermal Field is plentiful and dependable enough to heat more than 30 million square feet of space.
"Not only would customers realize savings from the district Itself, but there are numerous state, federal and local tax incentives to using a clean, renewable resource like geothermal. We already have numerous letters of intent from area businesses waiting to become part of the heating district," said Ron Burch, President and CEO of Reno Energy.
Geothermal energy can also be used for cooling, according to Burch. Using an absorption refrigeration cycle may reduce energy costs by 55 percent compared to an electrical chiller.
Reno Energy and Stone & Webster Engineering Corp. have worked together to develop the project and have signed agreements for the engineering and construction of the heating district. The estimated value of the project is currently $32 million. Stone & Webster has over 20 years of experience in the development of geothermal energy projects, both domestic and International.
Reno Energy has filed applications for a geothermal operating permit with the Public Service Commission of Nevada. Construction time line is set to begin in April. Customer hookups should begin at the end of 1997. Burch said.
Working with Reno Energy, the University of
Nevada's College of Engineering will begin to expand its mechanical
engineering program to include geothermal systems and research.
The geothermal will not only prove cost effective, but Is the lowest coat alternative to preserving Reno's air quality. It produces no nitrogen oxides, no emission of particulate, no sulfur oxide and no carbon dioxide, the principle constituents of green house gasses.
Geothermal energy is a renewable source of energy and helps preserve the limited supplies of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas. For example, the 200 megawatts of electricity currently produced by geothermal power plants in Nevada saves an equivalent of 821,000 tons of coal, 3 million barrels of oil or 19.3 million cubic feet natural gas per year.
The Nevada environment has already seen the
benefits of geothermal energy in electrical generation. The 200
megawatts of electricity produced by geothermal plants in Nevada
spares the air 1.7 million tons of carbon dioxide, 315 tons of
nitrogen oxides and 11,000 tons of sulfur oxides which would be
produced by a coal burning power plant of the same capacity each
year.
The accompanying graphic shows the Reno Energy Geothermal Heating District design.
Wells within the Steamboat Hills Geothermal Field extract hot groundwater from the fault zones 600 to 2000 feet below ground. This water averages about 315 degrees Fahrenheit and is used to run the turbines at the Steamboat Power Plant.
The brine left over from the electrical generation process is currently reinjected back into the geothermal zone it originated from. Reno Energy will use this "leftover" energy from the hot water, and additional energy from geothermal wells, to heat fresh water in a heat exchanger unit. The geothermal brine Is then returned to the geothermal resource as required by state law.
The freshwater is heated to 240 degrees Fahrenheit and circulated through a "closed loop" underground pipeline, supplying clean, economic and renewable heat energy to customers,
The customer is connected to the geothermal heating network through a heat exchanger, a metering device and branch lines. The meter can measure energy and volume.
Within 5 miles of the geothermal resource are businesses and industrial parks totaling 1,514 acres and a potential for more than 30 million square feet of building space.
The Direct use of geothermal energy is not new. Similar heating districts exist in Boise, ID, Elko, NV, and in San Bernardino, CA. This energy can be used for buildings and greenhouses, home heating, pasteurizing milk, deiclng roads, heating water in fish farms, dehydrating foods, growing agricultural products, secondary oil recovery, and heating leaching solutions at gold mines. Such applications currently save the energy equivalent of 2 million barrels of oil each year.
Ron Burch
Reno Energy
1010 Power Plant Drive
Reno, Nevada 89511Tel +1 702 852 2079
Fax +1 702 852 1807