National Renewable Energy Laboratory Boreholes being drilled for a ground coupled heat pump system to provide heating and cooling at the U.S. army Fort Knox Disney Barrack, completed in 2005. Fort Knox is home to one of the largest geothermal heating and cooling systems in the world. Policymakers’ Guidebook for Geothermal Heating and Cooling This document identifies and describes five steps for implementing geothermal policies that may reduce barriers and result in deployment and implementation of geothermal heating and cooling technologies, such as ground source heat pumps (GSHP) and direct-use applications. STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 STEP 4 STEP 5 Assess the Local Identify Challenges Evaluate Current Consider Policy Implement Increased Industry and to Local Policy Options Policies Development Resource Potential Development Step 1: Assess the Local contact for more information. This contractors, as well as geothermal will provide you with insights into the trade organizations, can help you Industry and Resource scale of the geothermal opportunity understand local activity. Existing Potential in your area, and allow you to design and recent geothermal heating and Increasing the use of geothermal policy that is realistic and feasible cooling installations are a sign of energy requires a baseline level of while addressing your area’s existing resource potential. knowledge about the industry and strengths and weaknesses. market trends in your locality. As you Evaluate Deployment Potential assess your area, consider the historical Review Historical Activity If there is a substantial amount of activity of the local geothermal of Local Industry geothermal heating and cooling industry, take a look at the current Conducting interviews and surveys installations, there may be significant geothermal resource availability, and with local heating, ventilation, and air deployment potential. However, identify possible stakeholders you can conditioning (HVAC) engineers and deployment potential can be heavily NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC. Step 2: Identify Challenges to Development Identifying specific challenges associated with geothermal heating and cooling development in your area will help you recognize the point in development where new policy should be targeted. Understanding development barriers, stakeholder concerns, and development capital needs will help boost your knowledge about the local geothermal market condition and further increase the likelihood of effective policy. Development Barriers Geothermal heating and cooling technologies must be able to compete with other clean energy technologies to ensure successful deployment. Direct-use applications of geothermal energy, such as this greenhouse near New However, numerous barriers must Castle, Utah, require a local geothermal resource. By evaluating the resource be overcome to make geothermal potential in your area, you’ll be able to assess if direct-use applications are feasible. heating and cooling technologies a viable option. A lack of specific impacted by system costs and players, and potential champions machinery, equipment, financing, other regional requirements; make or opponents of geothermal knowledge, and the personnel needed sure to take these into account as development in your area. To identify to develop geothermal heating and you evaluate. stakeholders, contact state and federal cooling technologies are some of the environmental agencies, your state most common barriers to successful System costs for GSHP are dramatically energy office, or university experts. development. Direct-use applications affected by the local geologic and soil conditions, which can impact the cost of the required underground or underwater loop system. Evaluate the range of expected costs for drilling or excavating the underground loop system within specific areas of your state or community to assess the economic viability of GSHP. Direct-use geothermal applications require a local geothermal resource. To head off any additional barriers, conduct an in-depth, comprehensive assessment of local direct-use resource potential to identify specific viable sites, reduce development risk, and inform the local population about opportunities for geothermal direct- use applications. Identify Stakeholders By identifying possible stakeholders you’ll find information on existing or potential workforce personnel, New and existing GSHP systems, like this one in Greensburg, Kansas, are a sign of equipment vendors, regulatory resource potential in your area. A lack of qualified workers to One way to address stakeholder and public concerns is to provide information on install and maintain geothermal geothermal technologies by giving a system demonstration. equipment is one barrier to development that should be addressed when designing policy. face additional barriers, such as leasing or development capital. Find out Some states already have policies backlogs, regulatory and permitting the level of financial and industry in place that apply to direct-use roadblocks, and insufficient resource support needed to make GSHP or applications and GSHP. Additionally, access. GSHP barriers also include high direct-use technologies competitive federal, state, and local policies can installation costs and varying system in your area by contacting existing interact to create or correct designs. or potential geothermal heating and market failures. cooling consumers. Involving the HVAC Learn more about current federal Stakeholder Concerns industry will allow you to make direct policies in the table on the next page Conducting surveys and interviews, comparisons between the economics and view current state policies already networking at conferences or of geothermal heating and cooling in place by visiting the Policymakers’ meetings, and holding formal technologies and current heating and Guidebook for Geothermal Heating public comment opportunities with cooling technologies, such as HVAC and Cooling website at www.nrel.gov/ stakeholders on specific local and loads, local climate variations, utility geothermal/guidebooks/heating_ industry needs can increase the value prices, and required funding. of your geothermal heating and cooling/current_policy.html. cooling policy by revealing barriers Step 3: Evaluate Additionally, visit the Database of to development. These types of Current Policy State Incentives for Renewables and activities will be most effective if a clear Efficiency,www.dsireusa.org/ , to find Review current state and federal policy distinction is drawn between GSHP information on state, local, utility, and major provisions that impact the and direct-use applications. and federal incentives and policies development of geothermal heating that support renewable energies like and cooling technologies to create a Development Capital geothermal. Geothermal heating and cooling coordinated plan that will enhance technologies require specific new policy effectiveness by addressing equipment, personnel, and financing current policy gaps and leveraging existing policy. Step 4: Consider applications depending on your • Outreach and training Policy Options area’s goals, resources, and needs. • Utility mandates and standards. Options include: Developing geothermal heating and Learn more about these policy options • Direct cash incentives cooling policy involves considering in the table to the left and get specific different types of policy options that • Lead-by-example policies details on each at www.nrel.gov/ can help expand the deployment • Tax incentives geothermal/guidebooks/heating_ of geothermal heating and cooling cooling/policy_options.html. • Financing technologies. Options may be directed to both GSHP and direct-use • Regulatory provisions Step 5: Implement Policies Implementing policies that will achieve Policy Options for Geothermal Heating and Cooling increased deployment of GSHP and direct-use technologies will require Policy Definition Example different sets of policies to facilitate Direct Cash Used to fund a portion of initial Grants deployment because each technology Incentives equipment and installation costs, is different. Weigh the options for which are often high, or to offset Rebates developing new policies or changing resource assessments, feasibility existing policies to include geothermal studies, or other pre-development heating and cooling technologies as costs. you move forward. Lead-By- Used to increase awareness and Attain Green-Building New Policies Example test or demonstrate geothermal Certification New policies may be most effective Policies technologies. Meet Energy-Reduction if targeted to market barriers that are Goals not already addressed by existing local, Procure Energy-Efficient state, or federal policy. For example, Equipment if the existing federal ITC can provide Tax Used to offset purchasing, Property Tax Incentives the necessary financial incentive to make direct-use projects economically Incentives installation, and ownership costs. Sales Tax Incentives Easy to administer and do not feasible, new policy is likely to be most require special funding or annual Tax Credits effective when designed to address appropriations. resource access, ownership, local expertise, and knowledge barriers that Financing Allows projects to become more Loan Guarantees can halt development. feasible by spreading costs over time. Loans Regulatory Used to address deployment