Manitoba Hydro has nixed a plan by Sisler High School to install a geothermal heat pump in its new gym -- a move one former NDP energy minister says spotlights Hydro's quiet ambivalence toward green energy.
Manitoba Hydro recently told the northwest Winnipeg school it would cost between $50,000 and $100,000 to install a geothermal heat pump in its new gym, a costly move Hydro isn't willing to subsidize when natural gas pipes already serve the school.
Brent Laufer of the Manitoba Geothermal Energy Alliance, says Hydro is dismissing geothermal too quickly on big projects.
A geothermal heat pump would also use more electricity -- a valuable commodity Hydro said it would rather export for healthy profits.
"We're looking at other options and we're hoping to continue working with Hydro," said teacher Greg Shedden, who has helped students spearhead the project. "We're reasonably sure we can raise the money ourselves to go ahead."
Several sources familiar with the province's bid to go green say the standoff at Sisler spotlights Manitoba Hydro's unwillingness to champion environmentally friendly energy on a grand scale.
Manitoba Hydro has been quick to promote the use of geothermal pumps by individual homeowners, but it has thrown up roadblocks to large-scale geothermal systems in suburbs like Waverley West or big public projects like new schools.
"This is another indication of Hydro's determination not to do geothermal where they can do natural gas instead," said Tim Sale, former NDP energy minister. "It means Manitoba homeowners and businesses will pay more for their heating, while Hydro exports power to the United States. That makes no sense to me. They're our company, not an American company."
Sale, who retired last year after more than eight years in various cabinet posts, was among the first to declare Waverley West a natural-gas-free suburb. That dream was dashed recently when Hydro and the province confirmed the suburb will have no mass installations of heat pumps.
Installing a geothermal pump in a building takes it right off the natural gas grid, which over time saves the owner money in heating and cooling costs. But the system's compressor uses more electricity than a gas furnace. Several sources, including Sale, have speculated that Hydro has been reluctant to champion geothermal heat because it might suck up power that could be exported to the United States for big money, keeping Manitoba's rates artificially low.
"That's nonsense," replied Hydro Spokesman Glenn Schneider. "We have the highest geothermal penetration rate in the country. That's the proof in the pudding to me."
Well over 5,000 green-minded homeowners have installed geothermal pumps in their houses, thanks in large part to incentives and low-interest loans offered by the province through Manitoba Hydro. Hydro has also installed a geothermal heat pump in its new headquarters now sprouting up downtown.
But Schneider said there is no good economic reason for Hydro to install heat pumps in places already serviced by natural gas.
"That drives (electricity) demand up, which drives the need for new generation projects, which drives up capital costs," Schneider said. "We have to be concerned with economics, here."
Brent Laufer, president of the Manitoba Geothermal Energy Alliance, said the government and Hydro are dismissing geothermal too quickly on big projects, in part because they don't have the expertise to figure out how to do it properly and cheaply.
"They say 'We've looked at it and it's got a 50-year payback and it's just not feasible'," said Laufer, whose growing association hosted its second annual conference and trade show last weekend. "If you can build the Limestone dam, you can put in a heat pump. But they're a utility. They're not a geothermal company."
maryagnes.welch@freepress.mb.ca
Geothermal:
What: A relatively new way to heat and cool your home or office. More than 5,000 Manitoba buildings have it, making this province the biggest per capita user.
Why: It's environmentally friendly because you can heat your house without natural gas. In many cases, it's cheaper in the long run.
How: Big pipes run into the ground below the frost line where the earth's temperature remains relatively constant. That energy is sucked out in the winter to heat the house and pumped back in the summer to cool it.
Sizzling Sisler
Sisler High School's environment club has been looking at ways to shrink the school's environmental footprint. Heating and cooling the new gym expansion using a geothermal heat pump is a hard sell, but they're working with Manitoba Hydro to make the school's main heating system more efficient. Hydro is helping out with a study of how the school uses its hot water in order to shrink water use and heating costs.
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