Resilient Communities Webinar Series
Geothermal energy is expanding beyond individual homes to increase energy independence in neighborhoods, commercial buildings, and municipal facilities. University of Illinois Extension will share about three projects in rural and urban areas, offering local examples of how communities are planning for geothermal systems. These types of systems connect multiple buildings through shared underground loops, providing reliable, low-cost, clean energy for heating and cooling.
Project teams:
Oak Park Residence Corporation and Village of Oak Park: A neighborhood-scale geothermal network in a long-established area connecting multifamily housing, commercial buildings, and community facilities within a three-block area.
City of Vandalia: A district-scale geothermal network serving more than 240 homes, three schools, a hospital, and several municipal facilities and commercial buildings.
Elevate Energy: A community geothermal plan for the Trumbull Park Homes public housing community on Chicago’s South Side in partnership with the Chicago Housing Authority. Project includes a neighborhood-scale geothermal network serving 465 public housing units, with potential future connections to schools and park districts.
Project teams will share their planning processes, lessons learned, and opportunities and challenges they’ve encountered. These projects are supported through the Climate Bank’s Phase One Community Geothermal Planning Grant.
Presenters
David Pope, Oak Park Resident Corporation
Lindsey Nieratka, Village of Oak Park
Jakub Budz, Illinois Climate Bank
Jamie Hoffman, Redicool
Jason Masters, Gaiergy Corp
LaTisha Paslay, Vandalia
Bryce Seymour and Mark Milby, Elevate Energy
About the Resilient Communities Webinar Series
Resilient Communities presentations are a result of University of Illinois Extension and Prairie Rivers Network’s collaboration to build capacity for technical assistance and education aimed to help communities navigate energy- and environment-related funding opportunities, provide guidance on community inclusion, and lead community-specific strategic planning. This outreach can help communities secure and manage resources to address legacy pollution, invest in clean energy technologies, and more. This program is offered as part of the community and economic development team’s Local Government Education series in partnership with the natural resources, environment, and energy team.
For more information about the series, contact Linda Derhak at lderhak2@illinois.edu.