Brooklyn project shows feasibility of using geothermal in dense urban areas

"The first costs of a conventional system are always going to be cheaper, but the total lifecycle costs of a geothermal system are going to be far more financially feasible. LCOR's 1515 Surf Avenue on Coney Island in Brooklyn is the largest district geothermal project in New York City. According to Mehta, it shows how it's possible to install a major geothermal system in a dense urban environment."

"What makes the credit more palatable is that, once you have the high efficiency geothermal heat pumps that are connected to the same ground source loop, it qualifies a lot more equipment for the tax incentive. So it astronomically increases the incentive that you're going to get from the federal government."

"In this case, there were buildings preexisting around it, so there is a very obvious logistical challenge on getting the drills into that very tight space. The 400,000-square-foot project includes retail and other commercial space and more than 460 residential units, about a quarter of which are for lower-income households."

LCOR installed a district geothermal system in a 400,000-square-foot mixed-use project in Brooklyn containing retail space and over 460 residential units, including affordable housing. While initial geothermal costs exceed conventional systems, lifecycle costs prove substantially lower through reduced energy and maintenance expenses. The project required multiple incentives to achieve financial feasibility: $1.62 million from New York's community heat pump pilot program, $2.9 million from Con Edison's clean heat program, and a 30% federal tax credit. The federal tax credit becomes particularly valuable when high-efficiency geothermal heat pumps connect to the same ground source loop, qualifying additional equipment for incentives. Installation in the dense urban environment presented significant logistical challenges due to surrounding preexisting buildings and limited drilling space.

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