Welcome to our wiki on geothermal in Indiana, with a special focus on use of funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
We are part of the DePauw Environmental Policy Project, a group formed a year ago by twelve students and two faculty members to examine Indiana's environmental policies. One of the issues we focused on was the use of geothermal heat pumps, which according to the EPA are “the most energy-efficient, environmentally clean and cost-effective system of temperature control.”
At the invitation of Representative Ryan Dvorak, we gave a half hour presentation on geothermal in September 2008 to the Environmental Quality Service Council, an important interim study committee of the Indiana General Assembly. When the legislature convened in January 2009, Representative Nancy Michael introduced House Bill 1669, which would create a Geothermal Conversion Loan Fund to help schools convert to geothermal heating and cooling. At her invitation, we testified on that bill before the House Committee on Commerce, Energy, Technology and Utilities. In February, HB1669 passed the House unanimously. Again at Rep. Michael's invitation, we testified on the bill before the Senate Energy and Enviromental Affairs Committee. On April 15, the full Senate passed HB1669 unanimously.
Due to the severe economic downturn in Indiana and the nation, the bill is presently unfunded. However, Indiana is expecting to receive billions dollars in federal funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, including $1.3 billion for education. One of the major goals of the ARRA is to assist schools in becoming more energy-efficient by, for example, converting to geothermal.
On this wiki, you will find a copy our report that we wrote on the use of geothermal in Indiana schools. You will also find a spreadsheet that models what would happen if Indiana allocated $40 million dollars of its stimulus funds to help Indiana schools make the transition to geothermal.
In the coming weeks, we will add other information on geothermal and the use of stimulus funds.
Taylor Cantril
taylorcantril_2011@depauw.edu
Michael Lutz
michaellutz_2009@depauw.edu
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