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Project Updates for collection: Geothermal Projects

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  1. Geothermal project at the Woody Perennial Polyculture site for new greenhouse and existing Greenhouse 1506 Building

    Associated Project(s): 
    Geothermal at WPP

    From: Stumpf, Andrew J
    Sent: Friday, March 1, 2019 4:20 PM
    To: Erickson, Keith R; White, Morgan
    Subject: Geothermal project at the Woody Perennial Polyculture site for new greenhouse and existing Greenhouse 1506 Building

     

    Hi Keith,

    In getting an initial estimate for the design and build of a geothermal system for a new and existing greenhouse at the Woody Perennial Polyculture site we are being asked to what extent the electrical system will need to be modified/upgraded. Does it require utilizing the existing infrastructure and extending the current line to an utility shed, or will there be further modifications needed to the electrical system.

    We have been advised so a far that the heated greenhouse would need up to 5 heat pumps, which would be located in the shed. Another heat pump would be installed in Greenhouse 1506 building, to be used just for summer cooling. Overall, the proposed geothermal borefield would provide 2-tons of heating and cooling.

    Currently, both greenhouse have propane heaters, and the 1506 building has a evaporative cooler on the west wall. Since we could not get a design and build of the geothermal system done in the summer/fall, Dr. DoKyoung Lee installed the propane heater that came with the new greenhouse he purchased in early last year. We introduced the idea of building the geothermal system after he had purchased the greenhouse.

    If you could provide us with some information about the electrical distribution system at the site, we would appreciate it.

     

    Thanks,

    Andy

     

    Andrew Stumpf, Ph.D, LG, P.Geo

    Associate Geologist

    Illinois State Geological Survey

    Prairie Research Institute

    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  3. SSC funds Energy Shaft at the Energy Farm

    Associated Project(s): 
    Geothermal on Campus
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)

    This student-led project will involve the design, construction, and installation of an energy geo-structure for heating the UIUC Energy Farm, located near the southeast corner of Race Street and Curtis Road on the South Farms. This project has great potential in exploring and utilizing geothermal energy, a renewable energy alternative to fossil fuels. An energy shaft is a new technology designed to access the shallow geothermal energy (relatively constant ground temperature in the upper 30 m of the subsurface). The objective of the project is to determine the feasibility of using drilled shafts that are already being used to support structures on campus also as a geothermal heat-exchange element. Geothermal heat exchangers (closed absorber pipes) can be incorporated into underground infrastructure, e.g., drilled shafts, through which water is circulated to withdraw shallow geothermal heat (~55 °F) and transport it to the surface for structure heating or cooling.

    Attached Files: 

  4. Carbon Credit Funding Approval for Energy Piles at Hydro-Systems Lab

    Associated Project(s): 
    Hydro-Systems Lab Energy Foundations
    Utilize Carbon Credits
    Carbon Credit Purchasing Program (C2P2) with Second Nature

    $230,000 of funding from the Carbon Credit Sales Fund was approved for Energy Piles at Hydro-Systems Lab by Evan DeLucia and Mohamed Attalla

     

    Purpose of Project:

    "This project will install 8 energy piles in the foundation of the Hydro-Systems Lab on campus, and provide new research capabilities and a geothermal exchange system for reduction of energy demand from that building." -Morgan White (2/6/19)

     

    An email of the approval is linked below.

    Attached Files: 

  5. Fiber-optic cable intact

    Associated Project(s): 
    Geothermal Monitoring Well on Bardeen Quad

    Hi everyone,

    I can report today that the fiber-optic cable is intact and the test returned a signal along the entire 235 m cable. What you see in the photograph is data along the cable going down and coming back up (470 m total).

    We have ordered the drop box to store the fiber-optic cable, and a hole has been dug for it. The box will be installed by F&S after the holidays. The fencing is being left around the site until this is done.

    Wishing you all the best this holiday season.

    Andy

    Attached Files: 

  6. Borehole sealed

    Associated Project(s): 
    Geothermal Monitoring Well on Bardeen Quad

    Hi Everyone, We successfully installed the geothermal loop and fiber optic cable today. The borehole is now grouted closed. My appreciation goes out to the group of colleagues and staff from the ISGS that assisted the drill crew to insert the 400-feet of tubing in the ground.

    The drill crew will be back in the morning to clean up the site and move equipment offsite. We still need to install a drop box to store the fiber-optic cable and access the geothermal loop. The box has been ordered and if it arrives in the morning, we may be able to get it installed before the holidays. In about a month we will start measuring the ground temperature and run a DTRT test once the grout cures.

    Happy Holidays!!

    Andrew

  7. Installing fiber optics

    Associated Project(s): 
    Geothermal Monitoring Well on Bardeen Quad

    Hi everyone, We had a successful day of collecting geophysical logs in the borehole. I have seen print outs of this excellent data, and is an important part of the geologic characterization. Thanks goes out to Tim Young for coming out of retirement to help us complete the work.

    Tomorrow we will install the U-bend and fiber-optic cable in the borehole. Our task is to sink a 400-foot log tube filled with water (weighing ~600 lbs) down the hole. For those nearby you may want to drop by for a visit. Once this is done, we will proceed to grout the borehole closed.

    Cheers,

    Andy

  8. Last drilling update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Geothermal Monitoring Well on Bardeen Quad

    Hi everyone,

    We finished drilling today and advanced the borehole to a depth of 385 feet.

    Tomorrow we will collect geophysical logs of the borehole. If you want to drop by we should be in full swing by 11 am. It will take some time to clean out any material that has collapsed in the borehole overnight and make sure the hole is full of mud before logging the open hole.

    Best,

    Andy

  10. Daily update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Geothermal Monitoring Well on Bardeen Quad

    Hi everyone, As expected our rate of drilling today slowed when drilling the shale bedrock. The crew was able to drill an additional 25 feet to a depth of 355 feet.

    Next week, since Monday will be the last day we have to drill the hole deeper, we have decided to stop coring and just drill straight through so that we can reach the target depth of 450 feet. Tuesday is needed to clean out the borehole so that geophysical logging can be done on Wednesday. On Thursday and Friday, we will install the geothermal loop and fiber optic cable and grout the hole closed.

    Have a great weekend.

    Andy

  12. Daily update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Geothermal Monitoring Well on Bardeen Quad

    Hi Everyone, We are starting out Wednesday morning at 294 feet, about 5 feet into the bedrock. The crew will be widening the hole this morning from 5 inches to 5.9 inches before going deeper into bedrock. Looks like a nice day for drilling!!

    Andy

  13. Daily update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Geothermal Monitoring Well on Bardeen Quad

    Hi everyone,

    After a morning of thawing out the drilling system from well below freezing temperatures on the weekend, we were able to reach 240 feet. With the top bedrock being <60 feet, it is likely they will reach it on Tuesday.

    My colleague Jason Thomason will be at the site on Tuesday while I am out of town.

    Best,

    Andy

  14. Daily update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Geothermal Monitoring Well on Bardeen Quad

    Hi everyone,

    We had a successful day 2 after deicing the system. We are now down to 165 feet and heading into the oldest glacial strata. If you are following along with the log I sent, we are about 170 feet on it.

    We will start up again Monday morning.

    Best,

    Andy

  15. daily update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Geothermal Monitoring Well on Bardeen Quad

    Hi everyone,

     

    After day 1 we have drilled to a depth of 90 feet. This is excellent progress with snow much of the day, and not getting in the ground until late morning.

    So far, the geology is similar to previous drilling in the area (see log attached).

     

    Cheers,

    Andy

  16. Funding Approval for Geothermal Characterization/Monitoring Station

    Associated Project(s): 
    Geothermal Monitoring Well on Bardeen Quad
    Utilize Carbon Credits
    Carbon Credit Purchasing Program (C2P2) with Second Nature

    Evan De Lucia and Mohamed Attalla approved $65,610 of funding from the Carbon Credit Sales Fund for a Geothermal Characterization/Monitoring Station at John Bardeen Quad.

     

    An email of approval is attached below.

    The project proposal is attached below.

    Attached Files: 

  18. Feasibility study to be done

    Associated Project(s): 
    Geothermal at WPP

    Due to the complexity of this project, F&S recommended conducting a feasibility study before installation.  It is estiamted to cost approximately $10K and take about one month to complete.

  19. EUI at Fruit Farm Admin Building

    Associated Project(s): 
    Geothermal at the Fruit Farm Admin Building
    Energy Conservation Efforts

    Please see the attached Excel file for some Energy Use Intensity (MMBTU/GSF) and (kBTU/GSF) calculations for the Fruit Farm Admin Building.  I have also attached an Energy Star Portfolio Manager Technical Reference which gives numbers for average U.S. Energy Use Intensity by Property Type.  These numbers are given in kBTU/GSF for comparison.

     

    The good news is that the numbers have been decreasing from 2011 through 2017.  Since 2018 is not over yet it would not be fair to count that number, but from 2011 through 2017 the energy use intensity appears to have decreased to about half of its starting value!  The numbers range from about 299 MMBTU/GSF to about 153 MMBTU/GSF (about 45 kBTU/GSF to about 23 kBTU/GSF). 

     

    If you look in the Energy Star Portfolio Manager document, the UIUC Fruit Farm is on par with a small retail office (at the higher EUI levels from 2011) to a warehouse or other unoccupied space (at the lower EUI levels from more recent data).  This may be an indication of the level of activity of the facility, or it may just reflect the fact that you are getting a lot of geothermal energy (three to four units of geothermal energy for every one unit of electricity).  If you look in the table you will see that a laboratory is listed as 78.8 kBTU/GSF, which is about 3.5 times the 2017 calculated value of 23 kBTU/GSF for the Fruit Farm.

     

    Please note that the numbers I am comparing the Fruit Farm to are the site energy numbers in the Energy Star Portfolio Manager document, which reflect the amount of energy you are using at the site (meter readings).  Source energy numbers are higher and include losses due to energy conversion and distribution from where the energy was originally generated (likely a coal or natural gas plant in Illinois).

    - Frank Holcomb

    Attached Files: 

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