On March 11, 2009, President Obama signed a general spending bill into law that granted the City of Boise $2 million to expand its geothermal heating system across the Boise River to the Boise State University campus. The money will fund the first phase of the project and City leaders hope phase two, return of the geothermal loop to downtown, will be funded with stimulus money.
Although lately we’ve been hearing much about renewable energy’s importance for the nation’s future energy supply, geothermal energy is nothing new in Idaho. In fact, downtown Boise has a rich and long history with geothermal power. Boise was home to the world’s first geothermal district heating system developed in 1892. The Artesian Hot and Cold Water Company supplied geothermal heated water to businesses and homes along Warm Springs Road. The Natatorium, also on Warm Springs Road, opened in 1892 with its 65 x 125 foot geothermal pool. Boise was home to another geothermal “first” in 1930 when the first commercial use of geothermal energy for a greenhouse was undertaken at Edward’s Greenhouse, which still uses geothermal energy for heating today. In the 1970s, Idahoans started using the geothermal water for aquaculture facilities, raising fish for dinner tables and aquariums alike. Since 1983, the City has been operating its own geothermal district heating system that currently serves many buildings in the downtown area, including Boise City Hall, the Ada County Courthouse, Boise High School, and the Federal Building. Water is pumped out near St. Lukes Regional Medical Center's downtown campus, travels through nearly 13 miles of pipeline, and is recharged into the aquifer near Julia Davis Park.
This month's news of geothermal expansion to the BSU campus will surely mark another phase in the history of geothermal energy in Boise. BSU currently has five buildings ready to be retrofit with a geothermal heating system, and it is estimated that the system will save the university $80,000 per year. Now that sounds like plan we can all get behind.
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