In addition to the low-interest loans already available, the Doer government sweetened the pot Monday, offering cash rebates and tax credits to homeowners interested in installing the underground heat pumps.
Homeowners building brand new can now get up to $3,000 toward the cost of a geothermal system.
Homeowners with older houses who opt to rip out their furnaces and install the heat pumps can get up to $5,600 in federal and provincial rebates and provincial income tax credits.
There are already about 6,000 geothermal systems at work in the province and the number of new systems grows by about 20 per cent a year. Installers hope the new menu of incentives will double that growth rate.
Energy Minister Jim Rondeau announced the new incentives at the site of McPhillips Common, a huge renovation of a 336-suite rental complex just north of Mountain Avenue. There, private developer B&M Lands has been able to do what the Doer government failed to in Waverley West -- build a large-scale housing development heated exclusively by a geothermal system.
"The underlying economics of it were compelling enough that we felt it would be a competitive advantage and would pay back over the years," said Andrew Marquess of B&M Lands. "We're a proponent of geothermal and (the incentives) are a good first step."
Under the new system of grants and incentives, B&M will likely get about $150,000 from the government towards cost of the geothermal system.
For years, Waverley West was touted as a green suburb that would include large-scale geothermal heat instead of natural gas pipes. But the first phase of the suburb will have only a handful of homes with geothermal, depending on the whim of individual buyers. To combat criticism, the province announced last week the second phase of more than 200 homes will have at least 54 lots served by heat pumps.
The details of the new grants and tax rebates still have to be worked out. The tax credit is retroactive to April, 2007, but the cash rebate for new homes doesn't kick in until January.
The province is hoping the Manitoba Geothermal Energy Alliance will help co-ordinate the program to make it as simple as possible for homeowners.
maryagnes.welch@freepress.mb.ca
Tell me again -- what's geothermal?
It's a heating and cooling system that taps into the energy stored in the earth's crust. Coiled loops are installed under a home or under the yard and extract heat from the ground. It's compressed so it gets even hotter and then it's released into a home. To cool a house, the reverse happens. Hot air is sucked out of the house and pumped back underground.
How much does it save me in heating bills?
Depends, again. The province estimates a savings anywhere between 30 and 70 per cent. Brent Laufer, president of the Manitoba Geothermal Energy Alliance has a 2,000 square foot home and garage and his heating bill is about $500 a year for the electricity needed to run the heat pump.
How much does a system cost?
Depends. Maybe $22,000 to retrofit an old house and $16,000 to build new, depending on the size of the house and the size of the yard.
What are the new goodies the Doer government is offering?
They're a little complicated. If you build new, you can get a $2,000 tax credit and a $1,000 cash grant plus the existing Power Smart loan at 4.9 per cent interest. If you convert your existing home, you can get a tax credit worth $2,100, a federal grant worth $3,500 plus the Power Smart low-interest loan.
