Gas provider turns to ground source heating/cooling

In Canada, in a surprise move, natural gas provider Atco Gas has just opened a $21.2-million North Edmonton Operations Center that uses geothermal heating, ventilating and cooling technology. The 55,000-square-foot facility is the largest commercial building of its kind in Canada to use geothermal, although it does have natural gas booster system. One hundred and ten 110 wells were drilled to 140 feet below the employee parking lot. A water/methanol mix is passed through the wells and into the mechanical room where it passes through heat pumps powered by the gas to raise the temperature. The firm cut its energy use 40% per cent and carbon dioxide emissions 60 tons a year. “As an Alberta company, it’s important to be a leader in environmental areas,” Atco Gas president Brian Hahn was quoted as saying. “We are in a pool competing for great talent, and people want to work for the kind of company that is a leader in the environment.”