{"id":5776,"date":"2013-04-23T08:47:01","date_gmt":"2013-04-23T15:47:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unrbep.org\/?p=5776"},"modified":"2013-04-23T08:47:01","modified_gmt":"2013-04-23T15:47:01","slug":"reno-hotel-gambles-on-green-energy-and-saves-2-million-per-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unrbep.org\/dealerportal\/reno-hotel-gambles-on-green-energy-and-saves-2-million-per-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Reno Hotel Gambles On Green Energy And Saves $2 Million Per Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source: Andrew Bender, Contributor<\/a> Forbes.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

One hotel in Reno, Nevada is not like the others, but not for the reasons you\u2019d expect. Sure, the Peppermill Resort Spa Casino\u2019s two 19-story towers are unique, as are the 2.1 million square foot (195,000 sqm) interior, 1,635 guest rooms, 43,000 square-foot (3,995 sqm) spa, Tuscan-themed decor and larger-than-life casinos, restaurants and nightclubs.<\/p>\n

This difference is one you can\u2019t see: how it\u2019s heated. Water from a geothermal aquifer 4,400 feet (1.34 kilometers) underground powers the Peppermill\u2019s massive heating and hot water systems, saving a cool $2 million annually versus its former, conventional power source, natural gas.<\/p>\n

Geothermal expert Dr. Jim Combs of Geo Hills Associates calls the Peppermill \u201cthe only resort in the United States whose heating source is totally provided from geothermal energy produced on the immediate property.\u201d Going green has earned the Peppermill commendations from far and wide, including the U.S. Congress.
\n
\nHere\u2019s a simple explanation of how it works:<\/p>\n

1 \u2013 Water at 174\u00b0 Fahrenheit (79\u00b0 Celsius) is pumped from beneath the property, up to 1,200 gallons (4,542 liters) per minute.<\/p>\n

\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Dean Parker, Executive Director of Facilities at the Peppermill Reno, and the geothermal heat exchanger… (photo credit: Andrew Bender)<\/p>\n

2 \u2013 In a heat exchanger in the Peppermill\u2019s boiler room, geothermal water heats copper tubes filled with water from the municipal water authority. The two types of water never touch, as one would contaminate the other.<\/p>\n

3 \u2013 The municipal water is pumped to the hotel buildings, while the geothermal water is pumped back into the aquifer, where nature reheats it for its next use.<\/p>\n

Since the Peppermill switched from natural gas for water and heating in 2010, its four behemoth natural gas boilers have sat idle. \u201cThey haven\u2019t been turned on in the last three years,\u201d says Dean Parker, Executive Director of Facilities. Geothermal is so reliable that he plans to sell two of the boilers.<\/p>\n

So why doesn\u2019t everybody go geothermal? Well, it\u2019s still early days for the technology, making it a gamble, although if there was ever a place to gamble, it\u2019s Reno. The Peppermill\u2019s odds were good since it already had a smaller geothermal facility, and Nevada (along with Oregon and California), is one of the most geothermally active regions in the nation; the U.S. leads the world in geothermal energy, with some 30 percent share.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

…which does the work of four of these giant boilers and saves about $2 million a year in natural gas. (photo credit: Andrew Bender)<\/p>\n

Yet despite extensive consultation with geologists and geothermal experts, without drilling there was no way to know the volume, temperature or location of the hot water below \u2013 or even whether it existed. \u201cIf it hadn\u2019t worked,\u201d Parker says, \u201cI\u2019d have been packing my bags.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parker says the crew drilled for about a month, and just as it was looking bleak, they found the aquifer. Management eventually invested $6.5 million in the new geothermal system which, at a savings of $2 million a year, will pay for itself within the next year. \u201cWhen you have a four-year return on your investment, it\u2019s almost a no-brainer,\u201d Parker says.<\/p>\n

Parker\u2019s team had also considered other alternative energy sources, but, he says, \u201cSolar and wind power just didn\u2019t pencil out.\u201d Unlike those, geothermal is not dependent on above-ground conditions. \u201cIt\u2019s just constant,\u201d he says. \u201cIf the water is 174 degrees, it does not heat up to 175 degrees, and in the last three years it has not dropped even one degree either.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eventually, Parker hopes to drill deeper and hit a subterranean steam vent. Enough steam at 220\u00b0 Fahrenheit (104.5\u00b0 Celsius) could power an electric plant for all the Peppermill\u2019s needs, enabling it to go off the power grid completely.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source: Andrew Bender, Contributor Forbes.com One hotel in Reno, Nevada is not like the others, but not for the reasons you\u2019d expect. Sure, the Peppermill Resort Spa Casino\u2019s two 19-story towers are unique, as are the 2.1 million square foot (195,000 sqm) interior, 1,635 guest rooms, 43,000 square-foot (3,995 sqm) spa, Tuscan-themed decor and larger-than-life … Continue reading Reno Hotel Gambles On Green Energy And Saves $2 Million Per Year<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unrbep.org\/dealerportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5776"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unrbep.org\/dealerportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unrbep.org\/dealerportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unrbep.org\/dealerportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unrbep.org\/dealerportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5776"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unrbep.org\/dealerportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5776\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5778,"href":"https:\/\/unrbep.org\/dealerportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5776\/revisions\/5778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unrbep.org\/dealerportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unrbep.org\/dealerportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unrbep.org\/dealerportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}