DMEA Promotes Geothermal Energy Through New Program

MONTROSE – For energy consumers in the Delta-Montrose Electric Association (DMEA) service area, lowering the cost of heating and cooling their homes as well as conserving energy just got easier.

On Earth Day (April 22), DMEA’s Board of Directors launched a geothermal loop tariff program in which the energy cooperative will pay for the installation of a residential ground-source heat pump’s loops – normally about half the system’s cost. Geothermal heat pump systems range from $2,000 to $5,000 per unit, depending on the size.

A geothermal loop is a renewable energy extraction that uses a series of water-carrying pipes to extract heat (approximately 54 degrees in the Montrose area) from the ground. Energy from that heat can be used to heat and cool homes at low cost with a minimal use of electricity. The system uses approximately 1kW of energy to extract 4kW of geothermal energy from the earth.

Under the new program, DMEA will pay for the installation of the loop’s pipes that feed the ground-source heat pump, which is paid for by the resident. DMEA will own and maintain the loop as a utility plant, charging a monthly fee, approximately $15-$29, similar to the monthly base charge members pay for electric service.

“For the cost of a geothermal loop, the majority of it is paying for the loop,” said Paul Bony, DMEA’s manager of member services and marketing, in an interview last week. “DMEA already puts poles in the ground and wires in the ground and we are not for profit, so we decided to make the same business model for those ground loops. By doing this we are reducing the first cost barrier by basically paying the upfront cost so members can afford to put their money into the other equipment [ground heat source pump].”

Bony went on to say that for consumers who heat their homes with electric resistance type heating (baseboard, electric furnace) or with propane, moving to a geothermal loop could drop their energy cost by 75 percent.

Switching to geothermal from natural gas provides a less dramatic savings.

“If people heat with propane and electric and they switch to geothermal, they could see payback within two to three years,” Bony said. “For those who use natural gas, payback may be closer to seven years.”

According to a U.S Environmental Protection Agency study, geoExchange is the most energy-efficient, environmentally clean and cost-effective space conditioning system available. Today, more than half a million geothermal heat pump units are installed in the U.S., resulting in an annual savings of four billion kWh of electricity, eliminating the need for 20 trillion BTUs of fossil fuels, cutting peak electrical demand by 1.3 million kW and cutting greenhouse gas emissions by three million tons of CO2.

“We’re concerned about the impact of rising energy prices in general in addition to upward pressure on our own rates,” said DMEA General Manager Dan McClendon. The price of propane is directly correlated with the price of petroleum, which is reaching historic highs. The price of natural gas is rising on the futures market. GeoExchcange is an excellent way for homeowners to insulate themselves from rising fossil fuel costs and this program should enable many more homeowners to fuel with Mother Nature.”

DMEA is one of 44 energy cooperatives that purchase power from Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and was the only member that didn’t sign a contract extension with Tri-State from 2040-2050. For more information on DMEA and its geothermal loop tariff visit www.DMEA.com.