Cabbagetown may soon feature geothermal heated-streets

Amanda Connon-Unda

A small part of Toronto may be going geothermal and getting off the grid for its heating needs, revealing a possible future trend, as resources become less available. Laurier Avenue, a street in Cabbagetown, may soon become the first downtown street to heat and cool homes using geothermal heating – a clean technology that doesn’t use fossil fuels but instead uses the natural heat in the ground and can even reduce monthly heating bills.

In November, Douglas Worts and Sameer Dhargalkar created a community-based proposal to study the feasibility of geothermal heating. The pair received an award from The City of Toronto’s newly launched Live Green grant program. Their project exemplifies the increasingly popular trend of community groups digging in to “green” Toronto.

Tyler Hamilton, a Toronto Star reporter who has been covering geothermal projects, said community projects educate citizens about their options. He said, “They show people what’s possible, and bring it down to earth. But we need all types of action, including those that are politically or corporate driven… Everyone has to play a role, and community-based projects play an important one.”

Back in the summer of 2007, Worts and Dhargalkar (who live on Laurier Avenue) started talking with their neighbours about the possibility of geothermal for their street, and then last winter they arranged for a presentation by a geothermal renovations contractor.

The impetus for their project came from their desire to switch to cleaner energy forms. Douglas Worts, an environment consultant, and Sameer Dhargalkar, who has worked in the clean-technology industry, already knew about the benefits of geothermal before they approached their neighbours with a plan.

Worts and Dhargalkar said that once a geothermal system is paid for, monthly heating costs will be much less: about 50 per cent less for air conditioning and 60 per cent less for heating. After months of research, Worts and Dhargalkar learned about Live Green Toronto’s Community Investment Program. They applied and received $25,000. They’ll now be forming a project committee to choose the engineering firm to do their study, which they hope to complete by June 2009.

The Laurier Avenue case is different from traditional geothermal installations, which are more commonly in rural areas with plenty of room. In contrast, their small downtown street is a tree-lined dead-end block with heritage townhouses. Worts said, “This is something the city is interested in because it could have city-wide application.” Within the study, they will be looking at the needs of each house, and doing a thorough analysis of the soil strata to determine the challenges associated with drilling down. Laurier Avenue could be used as a pilot project.

Typically a single home geothermal installation costs around $25,000, but residents might be able to get a group discount. Dhargalkar said they will explore financing options from both private and public sectors. He said, “That is going to influence how many people sign on… We’re hoping to get a critical mass.”

During the Live Green Toronto award ceremony, Mayor David Miller asserted that the Laurier Avenue Geothermal Project may well stimulate interest in this technology in other heritage neighbourhoods. Practical urban retro-fitting of heritage homes will help preserve neighbourhoods and achieve City objectives of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. According to Dhargalkar, “Then you can say, ‘This is how they have done it, and here are the issues, benefits, and costs’, and hopefully get more people buying in.”

Carol Moore Ede, a heritage home-owner on Winchester Street, has heard about their project. She said, “Anything that we can do to conserve energy… is a good idea.” She said she would consider a group initiative, but is not confident it would be affordable to do alone. She said if the Laurier Avenue residents do well, other people might get together to do similar projects.

Tyler Hamilton of the Toronto Star said, “What I find interesting is that certain individuals are taking leadership by organizing others… People feel more comfortable acting together… government is increasingly supporting these actions through creative programs, but there’s still a lot of bureaucratic red tape… Over time I think the change will be positive.”

Live Green Toronto is one such creative program that aims to get people in their communities taking action on climate change.

The rising cost of energy means that not having to rely on the grid will become more important in the future. Dhargalkar said, “For a lot of people it’s about ‘how much are my monthly bills?’ …If we can find the innovative financing, this should pay itself back.” He said the pay-back period could be anywhere from seven to 15 years, depending on a number of financing factors.

Dhargalkar says clean energy is rapidly evolving. “There’s a huge momentum that’s happening not only from the public but also the private sector… banks are realizing they have to start financing… I think that’s the biggest difference from 10 to 15 years ago, when it was seen as a hippie-fringe movement. Now this actually makes sense from a cost perspective, a business perspective, and a socially responsible perspective,” he said.

Worts can envision a cultural shift toward sustainability. He asserts that “our current individual, local, and global unsustainability is a cultural matter that will be difficult to address”. Worts sees Live Green Toronto as “changing people’s views by engaging individuals and communities in projects for which they take some responsibility.” He sees the Laurier Avenue project the same way. He explained, “As we start looking at the underlying systems that affect our lives, like energy, and make a conscious decision to say ‘we need to stop using traditional fossil fuels’, I think that contributes a shift toward a culture of sustainability.”

The biggest obstacle for this project and others may very well be financing. Dhargalkar said, “If this is going to become too expensive… people aren’t going to do it… Especially because it sits under the ground and it’s not sexy… Even though it’s hugely important and makes a difference in our community.”

The Laurier Avenue Geothermal Project study was one of 14 initiatives funded by Live Green Toronto in the first go-around. In 2009, funding for community initiatives will increase to $2.2 million. Bekkering said Live Green will start receiving applications in February 2009, and again in July 2009. Various types of projects are being encouraged to apply: community gardens, collective tree plantings, collective purchases of renewable energy systems, alternative transportation systems, and climate change adaptation actions.