A recent Finance & Commerce article highlighted the installation of a new geothermal system at Cargill Philanthropies in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. The article served as a great reminder that geothermal is an excellent—and often forgotten—energy technology. Not only that, but the state’s annual geothermal conference is coming up next week!
Jeff Beiriger, Executive Director with the Minnesota Geothermal Heat Pump Association (MGHPA) notes, “[Geothermal] systems stand on their own merits—they work, they save money, they don’t emit carbon, and they’re a renewable resource. The fact is, people perceive this to be “new” technology when in fact they’ve experienced it in many of the building they visit—schools, office buildings, government buildings—are heated and cooled using geothermal heat pumps. They don’t know about geothermal because the systems aren’t visible the way a solar panel or wind turbine are. The fact that geothermal is renewable and invisible is fine for consumers, but not so great when it comes to showing off the technology.”
Annual Conference: There is a great opportunity to learn more about geothermal at the Minnesota Geothermal Heat Pump Association Annual Conference coming up at the Treasure Island Casino Resort in Red Wing on March 22-23, 2017.
“One of the most important aspects of geothermal systems is good design and installation,” Jeff notes. “That’s one of the reasons the MGHPA has been promoting contractor education at the annual conference. There, we’ll focus on the future of the industry, technical training, and business training with an eye toward raising the collective knowledge of the industry and delivering every possible benefit from a geothermal system.”
So head out to Treasure Island Casino Resort on March 22-23 and dig into Geothermal! See what we did there?
