University of Minnesota Duluth
Summary
Earlier this year, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed a clean energy bill requiring all utilities to be 100% carbon-free by 2040. Duluth is in many ways leading the state in achieving this goal. A large contributor is Minnesota Power, the first company in the state to reach 50% of its energy through renewable means. The City of Duluth also has a comprehensive phased plan to combat climate change through multiple differing means. Now, the BBER has been asked to assist in one of the city’s newest projects, investigating an innovative method for heating buildings with renewable energy.
Duluth is one of 11 separate communities across the country to be selected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to participate in a groundbreaking project focused on geothermal heating and cooling systems. As part of this initiative, the City of Duluth and its partners received a $700,000 grant from the DOE to conceptualize and analyze feasibility of implementing a geothermal district heating system in the Lincoln Park neighborhood near I-35. The heat will come from wastewater from Western Lake Superior District and pumps will be used to disperse heat, replacing the need for fossil fuels. The goal is to transition hundreds of buildings to renewable heating methods and stabilize future heating fuel prices.
Ken Smith, CEO of Ever-Green Energy, notes that this specific geothermal heating technology has never been done in the United States and could be a “model for the nation.” Smith also notes there have only been seven projects like this worldwide, with Finland, Sweden, and China among the few nations to have tested this type of system.
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