Join us every other Friday begining - January 12
Register in advance for this meeting:
HERE
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
The Let's Talk program takes place every other Friday beginning January 12 at 3:00 pm. Director of Operations, “JR” John Rath, welcomes your ideas and thoughts on topics and happenings impacting the geothermal industry in New York State.
Reach out to JR at jrfree49@yahoo.com with your ideas and thoughts.
June 14
NY-BOD members Zach Fink from ZBF Geothermal and John Ciovacco from Aztech Geothermal join this edition of Let's Talk.
Zach Fink will be sharing data from the latest NYSERDA Field Monitoring Ground Source Heat Pumps on Long Island efficiency study, showcasing how Ground Source Heat Pumps (GHPs) surpass the COP rating of other technologies and how to effectively utilize this data. John Ciovacco will be presenting his latest technological learnings and insightful perspectives.
March 22
Con Edison Rate Engineering Team providing an overview including data on the Select Pricing Plan (SC1 rate IV).
High level overview of the rate (i.e., optional demand rate, eligible customers, brief history, how it differs from conventional rate)
- Who should do well on the rate (i.e., load factor discussion)
- How people are doing
- # of people on rate (ASHP, GSHP, other) and how they have fared by tech (average savings, X% saved, etc.)
- Geo deep dive on customer results
- How contractors can talk to their customers about the SPP
- Enrollment process
- Explain price guarantee and # of openings remaining
- Point to support materials for customers and contractors
- Marketing
- Overview of what conEdison is doing to drive enrollment
March 8
Hannah Morgan, Senior Project Manager Efficiency Planning & Engineering. NYSERDA
Clean Green Schools Initiative (PON 4924)
The Clean Green Schools Initiative (PON 4924) provides funding to under-resourced public schools to support a variety of energy initiatives which will help school districts reduce energy use and save money! The program provides funding in two different Tracks:
TRACK I - Planning is open enrollment and provides funding for professional services such as hiring an energy manager, coordinating an energy study or coordinating an indoor air quality study. Track I project costs are up to 100% funded and NYSERDA’s funding ranges from $650,000-$1,250,000 per district depending on the district’s annual energy spend.
Applications will be accepted until December 30, 2025, by 3:00 pm, ET.
TRACK II - Installation is competitive and provides funding for qualifying construction projects, such as conversion of central heating and/or cooling plants to heat pumps, comprehensive energy efficiency projects and electrification of building system projects. Track II project costs are up to 100% funded, with a maximum possible funding amount of $5,030,000 per building and $10,100,000 for multiple buildings.
Proposals are due on June 6, 2024, by 3:00 pm, ET.
February 23
Beneficial Electric Rate Discussion for Geothermal Systems
February 9
We were joined by NY-GEO BOD member and President of Aztech Geothermal, John Ciovacco who will share with us an overview of:
US Treasury Draft Guidance on IRA Implementation- 11/22/2023
- Looking to correct TPO, 80/20 rule, plus DHW and structure of hybrid systems
- Input submitted by NYSERDA , National Grid, Con Ed & many other utilities, NY-GEO, Aztech Geothermal, Dandelion, GeoExchange and many others!!!
2024 Thermal Energy Network (TENs) Symposium in Rochester Minnesota
Commissioning Albany Housing Authority Project, Steamboat Square Phase 1
- An 88 unit, 12 story existing building.
- Vertical stack heat pumps in each unit, CO2 refrigerant heat pumps for domestic hot water and
- GeoEnsure BTU metering system installed.
Phase 2 will be an additional 325 affordable housing units with three 12 story towers and 5 groups of 2-story townhouses.
Visit to Trilith “Largest Geothermal Community in the US…” new urbanist community
January 12
Let's Talk program: Clean Kid*…Dirty Grid with Energy Navigator, Gerri Wiley
Clean Kid*…Dirty Grid, Energy Navigator, Gerri Wiley, who counsels families seeking to green their lives and home footprints, will share challenges her clients face as they attempt to avoid powering their homes with grid-supplied fossil-nuclear energy.
*Clean Kid refers to the geeky early adopters who are now grown-up kids with bigger toys. It also refers to their kids whose asthma symptoms have dissipated since replacing the gas stove with an induction cooktop. [Anything for a good rhyme].
December 8
Let's Talk program: Jens Ponikau, How to achieve Passive House Target in new and existing multifamily buildings using the ground as a thermal battery.
NY-GEO Board President and Owner of Buffalo Geothermal,Jens Ponikau will present on: How to achieve Passive House Target in new and existing multifamily buildings using the ground as a thermal battery.
October 27
Let's Talk program: Drilling with Brock Yordy & Kevin Moravec
In this session of Let's Talk n featuring Brock Yordy and Kevin Moravec. Drillers their equipment to grow GHP are essential. What does the industry as a whole need to do to address the demand that is coming. We talk about this and touch on the 500' Rule, why this change is significant to our industry, the accessibility to GHP it opens to buildings and why drillers are vital to the advancement of Geothermal.
October 13
Let's Talk program: Con Ed Preferred Pricing Plan and a review of Borehole 500' Rule.
Select Pricing Plan Presentation followed by Q & A with Con Ed:
The Select Pricing Plan is a billing option that offers new ways to manage energy use and costs.
David Orellano
Section Manager, Geothermal Programs
Fred Yonghabi
Deputy Program Manager, Residential Programs
Chris Gallo
Senior Planning Analyst, Rate Engineering
500' Borehole Drilling Review
NY-GEO BOD Members John Ciovacco and Kevin Moravec provide an update on current topics like borehole depth regulations.
September 22
Picture Links
Denver Sewer Recovery SHARC
NREL Workshop - Golden Colorado
Colorado Mesa University
Alexandra District Energy Utility
Colorado and Vancouver Tours with John Ciovacco, NY-GEO Immediate Past President, President (Aztech Geothermal).
John Ciovacco – NY-GEO Board Member and President of Aztech Geothermal has just returned from a trip out West to a NREL workshop, plus tours of sewer waste heat recovery, and thermal energy network (TEN) systems. The catalyst for the trip was that DOE’s National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) invited approximately 25 outside experts and key stakeholders to address DOE staff on Decarbonizing Communities with District Geothermal in Golden Colorado. To leverage the long trip, John arranged tours with people linked to some key clean thermal energy projects out West, with emphasis on large and community-scale systems.
John provided an overview of the NREL workshop and will run through photos and narrate the many terrific tours:
- National Western Center Sewer Waste Heat Recovery Denver, CO [Thanks Micheal Albertson!]
- Colorado Mesa University Grand Junction, CO [Thanks Cary Smith!]
- Alexandra District Energy Utility Richmond, BC [Thanks Constantino Retes!]
- SHARC Factory and Four Site Visits Vancouver Area, BC [Thanks Lynn and Dani Mueller!]
September 8
NENY proceeding* by Michael Hernandez of Rewiring America. As well we will be joined by NY-GEO BOD members Amanda Schneck and Zach Fink.
August 11
Let's Talk program featuring NY-GEO board members Heather Deese (Dandelion) and Jens Ponikau (Buffalo Geothermal).
Heather discusses third party ownership/leasing options for geothermal heat pump systems which will scale deployment of the most climate friendly, lowest operating cost heating and cooling technology 40% faster, creating 90,000 good-paying jobs and avoiding 64 million metric tons of missions. Geothermal installers across the country are in discussions with capital markets to finance third party ownership, but lack of clarity from the IRS is holding up projects right now. Right now, we are engaged in a major push to get this issue on the priority list for the IRS to address in 2023 and engagement from more of the NY-GEO membership would be a huge help!
Jens will be sharing further performance data from a presentation to the PSC, about how the thermal ground battery of a geo system actually acts like a dispatchable energy resource, avoiding peak grid capacity, and the need for electric grid peaker plants.
Jens also reviews how electric grid capacity, including DHW and heating load, is still less than today's summer A/C driven peak load. When a energy efficient home is combined with a modern geo system, an increase of electric grid capacity for heating is eliminated.