A 2008 US Department of Energy study performed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory cited ground-source heat exchange as a proven technology for producing large reductions in energy use and peak demand. The report also cited the main hurdle for aggressive deployment of this technology as the added cost of the outside ground loop infrastructure. LVestus Energy has now addressed this issue by developing an innovative business model that offers building owners the opportunity to procure geothermal heating and cooling through the company’s GeoTPA programme.
The new programme involves “zero” upfront capital outlay for building owners, with LVestus Energy assuming the cost of installing the exterior loop field portion of geothermal heating and cooling systems, making the installation less expensive than competing fossil fuel installations. In return, LVestus will charge customers for the geothermal energy they use to heat or cool their installations through thermal purchase agreements.
“Given the recent price instability in the energy sector, municipalities, institutions and corporate customers are seeking energy alternatives that provide affordable, stable and predictable long-term energy costs," said SCG Chairman, Michael Bowen. "We saw such an alternative in LVestus Energy, a company that is going to be a tremendously innovative player in the geothermal market. We wanted to offer our investors an opportunity to participate in what we expect to be a very successful venture.”
According to LVestus, its patent-pending GeoTPA programme “makes geothermal energy the most cost-effective way to heat or cool a commercial facility” using loop fields (also known as ground source heat exchangers) to extract heat from the ground in the winter and reject heat in the summer.
With LVestus’s help, municipalities, universities, schools, hospitals, building owners, property managers and developers can avoid the initial outlay of installing such a geothermal system, “making the installation less expensive than competing fossil fuel installations”. LVestus’s model also provides “a way to lock in heating and cooling costs for 15-25 years”, since energy delivery prices are fixed in today’s dollars providing a hedge against future fossil fuel price inflation.
“We are thrilled to receive this extraordinary level of confidence and financial commitment from SCG. The size of the initial commitment is indicative of the significant demand we have seen for our GeoTPA programme,” commented LVestus Chairman, Andy Livingston “This now allows our commercial customer base to begin taking advantage one of the Earth’s most efficient, stable and eco-friendly heating and cooling methods at a cost that is less than any other space conditioning methodology.”
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