(ABC 6 News) — This week, the City of Rochester is launching the second phase of its thermal energy program.
It is the first such program in the State of Minnesota, and it is a big step towards ensuring the city advances to 100% net renewable electricity by 2030.
Thermal energy uses the earth’s internal heat by tapping into underground steam or hot water.
This week, you can see crews connecting the Mayo Civic Center, Rochester Art Center, Rochester Civic Theatre, and Rochester Public Library to that new system.
“Overall, this project is projecting about, through the four phases, about a $9000 annual energy savings for our facilities and really helping us to build on our commitment to sustainability for the facility. So this is a major project, and we’re doing some significant reductions in our carbon emissions and utility costs,” said Zack Wood, the manager of facilities and property for the city.
The city says this system is built to grow with plans to expand the thermal energy network to include private development in the future.
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