GEOTHERMAL HEAT PUMPS
“THE ROAD TO 30%”

Energy is becoming one of the defining issues of our time. The era of easy oil is over. Global Warming is a threat that we can no longer ignore and economic development in the form of job retention or creation, is something that we all must be concerned with. We must now look for technologies that will allow us to meet these needs both now and in the future. Geothermal Heat Pump Technology, with a 30% share of the market can accomplish this.

Geothermal heat pump systems (GHPs) use the earth’s thermal properties, in conjunction with electricity, to heat and cool facilities such as schools, hospitals, office buildings and houses. This technology is an answer to several problems that are plaguing our nation. It uses the “ENERGY UNDER OUR FEET”. DOE states that building lighting, appliances, space conditioning and water heating account for 36% of primary energy use in the United States. This is far greater than the total energy used in the transportation sector and nearly equals that of the industrial sector, two thirds (2/3) of that is supplied by electricity. Residential and commercial buildings use sixty five percent (65%) of all electricity generated. Forty percent (40%) of the total energy used, in those buildings, is for space conditioning (heating and cooling) and water heating. This technology also provides us with a solution to the problem of Global Warming by reducing Green House Gas Emissions by 40%.

The following information shows how this aggressive national initiative, with a goal of 30% market share of the current residential and commercial HVAC market, will have a major impact on ENERGY INDEPENDENCE, ENVIRONMENTAL SECURITY AND ECONOMIC PROSPERITY. This inititive will also create a long stream annuity and opportunity to share ownership of emission credits.

More than 1,000,000 geothermal heat pump units are currently in use nationwide – a number representing less than 1% of all heating and air-conditioning units in the United States. Although their current footprint is a small one, those units have had a significant combined effect on energy savings and environmental issues.

The "ROAD TO 30%” will move us toward these statistics stated below.

FOSSIL FUEL SAVINGS: This reduction in “units of use” provides the end user with more affordable utility bills.

30% = savings of 889,000,014 Mmbtu of fossil fuel & 177,117,239,835 kWh saved per year.

POWER REDUCTION: Reduction of electric demand by over 880 MWe (power REDUCTION technology, 1 ton of capacity saves .55-. 88 kW). This can eliminate the burden on electric power producers and reduce the risk of brownouts and/or blackouts.

30% = 36,564,000 kW or 36,564 Mwe (demand reduction) per year.

POWER PRODUCTION: The amount of energy taken from the ground by the systems. 7,385 MWt (3/4 of the energy used by GHP’s is from the ground, ¼ is from the power supplier)

30% = 306,771.96 MWt (power production) per year.

ENVIRONMENT: Eliminated almost 6 million tons of CO2 (equivalence of taking 1,294,696 cars off the road or planting 513,598,604 trees). This will enable the US to meet or exceed the goals of the Kyoto Agreement without negatively impacting or placing our business community at risk.

30 % = 130,115,529 metric tons reduction of CO2 per year. (Equivalence of removing 28,690,474 cars or planting 8,526,008,806 trees)

DEPENDENCY ON FOREIGN OIL: Saved over 21 million barrels of crude annually, reducing our dependency on foreign oil. The US currently imports 13.5 million barrels of crude daily, with over 8 million coming from OPEC Nations.

30 % = 477,404,959 barrels crude oil saved per year .

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: Development of an aggressive national initiative will need an expansion of the national infrastructure, which will have a major impact on economic development by creating more jobs at all levels of the technology. (1 commercial installation equates to approximately 22 jobs, including the designers, installers, loopers, drillers and manufacturers.)

A 30% share of the market = 7 million jobs, in the HVAC and related industries would be created or retained. (Jobs may or may not be mutually exclusive, individual jobs or functions may be performed by the same individual in a particular classification or position.)

The numbers shown above do not include the institutional market; schools, hospitals and prisons etc, which are great applications for this technology. The inclusion of these facilities make these aggressive goals even more achievable, with a funded national initiative, managed by GEO-NII (Geothermal National and International Initiative) which is a partnership involving the Geothermal Heat Pump Consortium, the National Association of State Energy Officials and the International Ground Source Heat Pump Association. It would utilize geothermal heat pump technology to achieve permanent energy independence and environmental stability for the Nation both now and in the future. The program will center on the development of a sustainable infrastructure, through professional development training, in all facets of the technology. This would be accomplished by using established educational institutions to provide IGSHPA training for both professional development and course development. Along with the training there would be a strategic outreach to support both the training and the market development or market transformation. This outreach would involve both industry professionals and end users to establish a sustainable market base for the technology.

To recap, the goal of the “ROAD TO 30%”, is to gain a thirty- percent share of the current HVAC market. This program, which will be a multi year program, will be using the “ENERGY UNDER OUR FEET” to achieve energy independence by reducing the nations reliance on foreign oil. The program will also support environmental security by reducing green house gas emissions, which contribute dramatically to global warming and it will promote economic development by creating or retaining jobs, at all levels of the technology which would have a major positive impact on the economy of the nation. We can WORK our way to Energy Independence, Environmental Security and Economic Prosperity as we create a sustainable energy future for the next generation.

I welcome the opportunity to outline in more detail the proposed program, the funding needed and the numerous benefits to the end-user, not discussed above. Please call me at 610- 659-4998 to further pursue this initiative.

John (Jack) P. DiEnna Jr
Executive Director
Geothermal National & International Initiative
jdienna@geo-nii.org