Municipality of the County of Inverness

GEOptimize completed a district geothermal feasibility study in 2022 for the Municipality of the County of Inverness to evaluate the conversion of multiple community buildings to a GSHP system. The study focused on six municipal and institutional facilities, including the Hospital, Manor, Arena, Education Centre–Academy, Co-op Inverness, and the Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The objective of the study was to determine the technical and economic feasibility of implementing a GSHP-based district energy sharing system to replace existing oil- and electricity-based heating, cooling, and domestic hot water systems.

The feasibility assessment included detailed building energy modeling, subsurface characterization, conceptual district system design, and lifecycle economic analysis. GEOptimize developed calibrated building energy models and a district system simulation using TRNSYS to assess long-term thermal performance, GHX sizing, and system interactions. Multiple geothermal source and heat recovery configurations were evaluated, including vertical boreholes, horizontal directionally drilled GHXs, groundwater systems, wastewater heat recovery, surface water heat exchangers, and coal mine water wells.

The preferred concept was an energy-sharing district system using horizontal directional GHXs with provisions for phased implementation and future expansion. The study also evaluated building-level retrofit requirements, including replacement of boilers and chillers with water-to-water heat pumps, low-temperature coil conversions, and waste heat recovery from refrigeration systems. Subsurface thermal properties were estimated from regional well logs to support preliminary GHX sizing and long-term performance projections.