Eagle County commissioners give the go-ahead for geothermal project in Eagle

The Eagle County Board of Commissioners had a simple instruction to staff regarding converting the county administration building in Eagle to geothermal heating and cooling: Get ‘er done.

The commissioners on Monday asked staff to go ahead with plans for a “geoexchange” heating and cooling system for the county building to replace the current heating and cooling system in the roughly 30-year-old building.

The current systems are roughly two years overdue for replacement and are being frequently repaired.

County Climate Programs Coordinator Kate Kirkman told the commissioners there’s currently about $4.1 million in grant revenue available for the work, currently estimated at roughly $9.5 million. But, she added, contracts need to be signed in the next month or so to accept those grants.

That work will start with drilling several boreholes on the county building campus. Those holes, which Kirkman described as “not very deep,” will have to be sunk to roughly 500 feet each. At that level, they’ll hit a consistent temperature of 55 degrees Fahrenheit. That air can then be adjusted for seasonal comfort.

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Kirkman said Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction has done “incredible work” in the field, adding there’s an opportunity for Eagle County to be “leaders” in the field.

Kirkman said geothermal energy is a renewable energy source that can either draw or reject heat from ground level, adding that the technology is five times more efficient than current cooling technology and twice as efficient as current boilers.

The system could be expanded to the surrounding neighborhood in the town of Eagle, Kirkman said.

County sustainability director Tori Franks said Holy Cross Energy is also interested in the technology. That utility could perhaps use the county’s technology to store solar energy as heat and recover it as electricity as needed.

The technology has “incredible potential,” Kirkman said. “There’s a lot of support behind it.”

Kirkman and other county officials presented the commissioners with three options, two of which were more phased. The commissioners chose the “do it now” option. That’s the one favored by state officials, Franks said.

Commissioner Kathy Chandler-Henry asked if the county had funds available. Franks replied that the funding in the 2025 budget would go into the county’s capital improvement project funds, which would then be reimbursed by grant funding.

Chandler-Henry also asked about the system’s potential maintenance needs.

County facilities director Jesse Meryhew replied that maintenance would be minimal — roughly one-third the cost of maintaining a boiler system.

Meryhew added that a geothermal project could also be an example of how to get people in the trades involved in its construction and installation.

With a go-ahead from the commissioners, the next steps include grant contracting, issuing a request for proposal and contracting with the needed contractors for the work.