BOISE, Idaho — The ground beneath Boise will soon help heat hundreds of homes in the Lusk District — thanks to a competitive international grant the city won for $1 million.
“This is a really big deal — over 630 cities applied worldwide, and Boise was one of 24 chosen for our innovative idea,” said Katie O’Neil, Boise’s Energy Program Manager.
The city secured a Bloomberg grant to link its geothermal heating system to more than 300 affordable housing units planned for the Lusk District.
WATCH: Hear about the $1 million grant and how the city aims to use it
“What we’re hoping to do is bring the geothermal pipeline over to this new building and then reduce residents’ utility bills by up to 80%,” O’Neil said.
You may have spotted the iconic geothermal heating plaques on about 90 buildings around town that already use it, including the Ada County Courthouse and the Idaho State Capitol.
“We have the largest direct-use geothermal system in the country. It’s a local, city-owned utility, and it’s cheaper and cleaner than conventional electricity or heat,” O’Neil said.
RELATED | Historic donation boosts Boise's geothermal energy system
One hurdle remains: figuring out how to fairly bill residents in multi-family buildings who consume different amounts of energy.
O’Neil said they have some ideas, and the grant will help the city develop a good solution.
“It’s kind of a first-of-a-kind, and success here would unlock expansion in this district, but also beyond just Boise,” she said.
The geothermal system is a closed loop—meaning the water is heated deep underground, heat is drawn from the water, and it is then returned to the aquifer— so none of that water is consumed.
“So buildings extract heat from this water, and then we collect it through a second set of pipes and we pipe it all the way back to funneled into this point to our re-injection well, and put it right back into the aquifer where we pulled it from initially,” said Jon Gunnerson, who manages the city's geothermal program.
Gunnerson says geothermal is the most sustainable and affordable heating option available.
“This project is just one of those examples of the excitement around what geothermal can be, and where it can be applied and how it can be applied,” he said.
Construction on the Lusk District project is set to start in October. City officials expect residents to move in by 2028 or 2029.
