Posted on May 7, 2023
Deep underground, a Missouri school’s geothermal plant is attracting national attention
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When an old chiller stopped working in 2016, the Parkway School district Decided to install a geothermal system that uses the Earth’s temperature to heat and cool the school. It also recently added solar panels to the building. Altogether, the district says Parkway South is saving more than $100,000 a year in energy costs.
Behind Parkway South High School on Wednesday, students were playing kickball on what looked like a normal, grassy field. But hundreds of feet below ground, a geothermal plant was using the Earth’s temperature to heat and cool the school.
That system is not something you would find at most schools in the U.S. Its uniqueness brought Maria Vargas, the Department of Energy's director of its Better Buildings Initiative, this week to recognize the Parkway School District.
Behind Parkway South High School on Wednesday, students were playing kickball on what looked like a normal, grassy field. But hundreds of feet below ground, a geothermal plant was using the Earth’s temperature to heat and cool the school.
That system is not something you would find at most schools in the U.S. Its uniqueness brought Maria Vargas, the Department of Energy's director of its Better Buildings Initiative, this week to recognize the Parkway School District.
Deep underground, a Missouri school’s geothermal plant is attracting national attention
Posted from kcur.org
Schools
Energy
St. Louis
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 2
Geothermal is a cost-effective proven technology* that all sides of spectrum should be behind. The main drawback from geothermal is the costs are heavily weighted up-front. However, over the life of the plant you'll recoup those costs.
The biggest barrier to the widespread use of geothermal is simple - lack of awareness and acceptance (one of those "you don't know what you don't know").
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* https://www.energy.gov/eere/geothermal/geothermal-faqs
The biggest barrier to the widespread use of geothermal is simple - lack of awareness and acceptance (one of those "you don't know what you don't know").
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* https://www.energy.gov/eere/geothermal/geothermal-faqs
Read our frequently asked questions and their answers to learn more about the use of geothermal energy.
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Good article. I've got friends who have Geothermal set ups in their house. They actually made a pond that they run pipes too and from with the heated water. They are in Nebraska, where it freezes everything in the winter, and that pond stays at about 65 degrees year round.
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