Just two weeks ago I had a post asking why utilities and municipal governments are failing to find creative ways to encourage the use of low-temperature geothermal systems. One option I highlighted was to provide low-interest loans to homeowners wishing to install such systems so they can spread the cost over several years and pay the premium with whatever energy savings they get.

I then came across an interesting joint venture between Waterloo North Hydro and NextEnergy Inc. called Lifetime Energy. According to the JV’s Web site, “We provide renewable and efficient geothermal heating and cooling with no upfront fees and immediate energy cost savings.”

So what’s the deal? Basically the company will go to a person’s home for an assessment and help the customer decide whether they could benefit from a geothermal system. The company will then find a dealer to do the job and oversee the installation. The whole thing is financed through the joint venture, and a bi-monthly payment for the equipment and ground loop system will be included along with the customer’s regular Waterloo North Hydro bill. The customer benefits from stable pricing over the lifetime of the contract, since the geothermal energy used for heating and cooling is renewable and isn’t subject to the volatility of fossil fuel prices. Energy savings are applied over time to the cost of the installation, so the customer doesn’t feel any upfront pain.

Now, as I’ve said before, this approach won’t work for everybody, but it can work for many — businesses and households alike. It’s great that these two companies have stepped up to the plate with an interesting program, and I can only hope that other muncipalities — Toronto included — steal from their page and offer geothermal to those who can benefit most without forcing people to break the bank.

As a side note, I plan on visiting NextEnergy within the next month or so to get a better sense of the opportunities from geothermal. I’ll keep everyone posted.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 23rd, 2006 at 12:28 am and is filed under Main Page. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.