Request for Proposals Now Underway

As of September 23, 2009, an invitation has been issued for expressions of interest by companies or individuals who have the requisite skills to undertake the Laurier Ave Geothermal Project Feasibility Study.  Some firms were contacted directly, based on earlier conversations.  Other firms are welcome to contact us to discuss their interest in competing for the contract.  Firms are required to sign a non-disclosure agreement before the RFP will be issued.

Please contact Douglas Worts, at <douglas_worts@rogers.com> if you would like to discuss this project.

Thanks.

Douglas Worts

Feasibility Study ‘Request for Proposals’ will be issued week of 21/9/09

After a number of delays, the Request for Proposals will be issued during the week of Sept 21/09 to interested consultants who able to undertake our feasibility study.  If you are a engineering professional in the area of renewable energy, especially related to heating and cooling systems for residential uses, please send us an email to ensure that we include you in our list of potential consultants.  You can send the email to Douglas Worts at <dcworts@yahoo.com>.

Many thanks.

Breakthrough in Solar Energy Production

See the exciting new developments in technology that converts solar energy to electricity.  This is an article from Business Week, March 26, 2008 – by Neal Sandler.

Advances in PhotoVoltaics

Ontario power authority increasing standard offer amount for solar energy

Interesting article in the Toronto Star about how the Ontario Power Authority is proposing to pay 80.2 cents per kilowatt hour it buys from residential rooftop solar installations. This is an 82% increase from the current standard offer program amount.

What does this mean for the homeowner who currently has or is planning to install a solar installation? It means a reduction in your payback period and, potentially, over time the cost of solar installations to come down. The latter will be induced by increased demand from residential customers which in turn spurs more suppliers of the solar and PV systems and increased competition and innovation.

I am glad to see Ontario move forward on this.

New Developments in Air-to-Air Heat Exchange Technologies

Check out some of the emerging heat-exchange technology that is attempting to challenge geothermal systems for cost and efficiency.

Historically, air-to-air heat exchange technology has not worked very well in extreme climates, however these systems utilize technology that claims to work extremely well in climates like that of Canada.  Have a look at the brochures (links below) and share your thoughts.

Hallowell Air-to-Air Heat Exchange Technology

Mitsubishi Air-to-Air Heat Exchange Technology

Going underground to go `green’

Cabbagetown dwellers want to dig deep for geothermal systems, if front money is found.

Dec 23, 2008 04:30 AM

John Spears

CITY HALL BUREAU – The Toronto Star

When Douglas Worts learned that the City of Toronto was going to fix the pavement on his street, he knew what he had to do: he called his councillor to get it stopped.  Worts has nothing against good roads. But he looks at his street – Laurier Ave. in the Parliament-Wellesley area – as more than a roadway.  He thinks it has the potential to heat and cool his house and others, by providing the footings for a geothermal heating system….

Follow this link to read the rest of this article….

www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/557618

Livegreen Official Grant Announcement

Today, Livegreen announced the recipients of both their Community Investment and Capital Funding grants. 14 groups received a total of almost $700,000 for a variety of community-based projects which include renewable energy initiatives, local food production, green roofs and more. The Laurier Avenue Geothermal project was one of those groups. You can read more in Livegreen’s announcement.

The announcement took place in Nathan Phillips Square outside of City Hall. Mayor David Miller made the announcement and continued to reiterate the City’s support of green initiatives, particularly at the grassroots level.

Douglas Worts and Sameer Dhargalkar were present and even got our picture taken with the Mayor to prove it!

Laurier Ave Geothermal Project Receives LiveGreen Funding

On October 31, the Toronto Environment Office confirmed that the Laurier Avenue Geothermal Project Proposal was selected, from amongst many submissions, for a LiveGreen Toronto grant.  With the $25,000 award, a ‘request for proposals’ will be issued to qualified professionals capable of assessing the challenges and opportunities related to installing geothermal heating/cooling systems in Cabbagetown – one of Toronto’s heritage neighbourhoods.  This study will provide valuable information that will be useful both for the residents of Laurier Avenue, but also for people who live in heritage districts across Toronto.

Geothermal heating/cooling uses the moderating temperature of the ground to provide warmth in winter and cooling in summer.  Using ‘heatpump’ technology, liquid that is pumped through piping installed hundreds of feet below the surface of the earth, provides houses with cooling in summer and heating in winter. This heating/cooling is provided at about 45% of the cost of conventional fossil-fuel-based systems, and dramatically reduces the greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) associated with gas and oil furnaces. The City of Toronto has launched a major initiative to reduce GHG emissions, in an attempt to address the problems of climate change.

One of the unique aspects of the Laurier Ave Geothermal Project is the plan to place the drill holes for the systems under the road and/or sidewalks. Since this 120 year old cul-de-sac, with 11 rowhouses on each side of the street and postage-stamp front yards, do not have large enough properties to drill wells on them.  The engineering study will assess the feasibility of drilling the wells under the street or sidewalks.  A second unique aspect of the project is to use Laurier Ave as a test site for the installation of experimental ‘permeable road resurfacing’ that will help minimize the amount of rain and melting snow run-off from going into the storm sewers.  Finding ways to retain moisture from rain and snow where they fall is an important goal of the City, since pollution from water run-off is a major issue in Toronto.

The official announcement for recipients of LiveGreen Program Funding will be held at City Hall on Wednesday, November 5, 2008.

Douglas Worts

Overview of the Laurier Geothermal Initiative

For those who want a quick overview of the Laurier geothermal initiative, we have made the update form sent out to Laurier residents a month ago available on this site.

The PDF version is available for download at the following link: laurier-update-sheet-sep-2008

Have You Signed up for Peaksaver Yet?

Peaksaver flyer image

Everyone should have received a glossy piece of direct mail looking pretty much like the above image in the past week. Seems like a no-brainer – you get money back in the form of a credit on your electricity bill; it doesn’t cost you anything; and it helps reduce the strain on our city’s power grid.

Sign up if you have central A/C.