Burnsville Ice Center will get eco-friendly energy upgrade

A new ice age has dawned in Minnesota, and Burnsville is embracing it as a willing participant in the fight against global warming.

The City Council gave the thumbs up last week for installation of an eco-friendly geothermal refrigeration system at the two rinks at Burnsville Ice Center, at a projected cost of $4.3 million. Because it will cut energy costs, it's expected to be worth the investment, the city says.

The geothermal system drastically reduces the amount of Freon needed for operation, a major plus from the ecological standpoint.

A geothermal system will have between 120 and 360 pounds of Freon flowing through the system. The center's current "direct" system uses between 10,000 and 12,000 pounds.

"We are going to try to build the design and specs to a performance standard that we are going to set," said Burnsville Recreation Facilities Manager Dean Mulso. "We're hoping the arena can be the showpiece of the city's sustainability program."

The city has $5 million in bonded money in place for the project. It also has $560,000 in stimulus money from the federal government, with $360,000 earmarked for the arena project. Mulso said the city expects money to be available each of the next two years as well.

While the technology has been around for awhile, it is relatively new to ice rinks. Minnesota has the largest concentration of geothermal rinks in the United States, with eight, according to Mulso.

The opportunity also exists for the "waste heat" from the system to be used to reduce gas consumption for heating the building by 90 percent. Mulso pointed out that the December gas bill for St. Cloud's Municipal Athletic Complex in 2007 was $12,000. After the city installed a geothermal system, the December bill in 2008 was $1,000.

Waste heat also can be used to heat nearby buildings. The city will do studies to find out if it makes sense financially to use the waste heat to heat City Hall.

Demolition is set to begin on March 17, 2010. If all goes well, Mulso said, both rinks could be in operation by Aug. 1. At the outside, he said, the second rink would open by Oct. 1.

Mulso has worked out an agreement with Lakeville for Burnsville's summer clients to have ice time at Hasse Arena. The building is expected to lose $125,000 in revenue during construction.

The current system has been in use since the ice center opened 37 years ago, surpassing its expected life expectancy of 25 years. Mulso and staff member John VonBank spent the past year touring facilities in Minnesota that use a geothermal system.